Coronavirus in Bulgaria: 36 new cases over 24 hours, total stands at 2211

Thirty six new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Bulgaria over the past 24 hours, thus bringing the total to 2211, the head of the national centre for infectious and parasitic diseases, Prof. Todor Kantardzhiev said at the daily morning briefing on May 17.

1094 samples were tested yesterday. The active cases are 1505.

The latest cases in Sofia are 10. At this stage, Sofia has the largest number of cases – 931, with 169 paients in hospitals and 30 of them being in intensive care.

The cases of children are 6% of the total number of coronavirus cases.

The medical professionals who tested positive for the virus are 240, which is 11% of the infection rate.

598 people have recovered, which is 25% of the cases.

The fatalities are 108. Three people died yesterday, a man in Pirogov hospital, who had underlying health conditions including ischemic diseases of the heart; a 66 year old woman, also in Pirogov, who had peritonitis; and a 31 year old man died with diabetes.

Currently, the effective reproduction number is from 0.8 to 1.2. In the first weeks from the development of the epidemic in the country the R number was around 1.7. In May, it was 1.17.

"If we reduce this number to less than 1 with a little more effort from the public, by respecting the antti-epidemic measures, it will mean that we see the light at the end of the tunnel of this epidemic," the professor said.

In addition to coronavirus, an outbreak of Q fever was reported in the district of Gabrovo, where 20 people, vets and staff from a cow farm and a sheep farm tested positive.