Covid-19: Protests against the new restrictions held in several cities in Bulgaria

The new anti-Covid-19 measures have caused dissatisfaction among club and restaurant owners in various cities in Bulgaria on September 7. They threatened to boycott the restrictions.

The big night clubs in the second largest city in the country, Plovdiv, will remain open tonight, and are ready to suffer sanctions for that. However, their owners are adamant that they have done more than necessary and cannot afford a new closure.

"We do not want problems, we just want to show that we have the right to work. If institutions come to check us, to impose some measure on us, respectively, what we need will be done, but we want to show that we have the right, we also have the need to work", says Veneta Raynova, manager of a night club.

We have encouraged in every way our staff, who are mostly young people, to be vaccinated and everyone has been vaccinated because we have convinced them that this is the way to work with people. Therefore we will not close because we have done what is required from us - to be vaccinated " explains Deyan Naidenov, owner of a chain of restaurants in Plovdiv.

Restaurateurs in Bulgaria’s historical capital of Veliko Turnovo are also firm - they will not comply with the new measures, they will continue with the protests.

"We would not comply because the measures are not adequate," said Dimitar Manolov, a restaurant owner.

As a sign of protest against the restrictions, most of the restaurants in Rousse closed today for 2 hours. According to restaurateurs and hoteliers, the industry should not be blamed for the spread of the coronavirus.

The protest in Rousse was joined by musicians, fitness instructors and taxi drivers, who for a short time blocked two intersections in the centre of the city.

"My colleagues and I who drive taxis, as well as many other related industries, will be left without income, because the closure is connected to many other businesses and closes them in practice," said Philip Haivazyan, a taxi driver.

There was a protest in Dobrich as well.

"Last year we had about 7% or about 14 establishments that closed and could not re-open at all. We are here to seek compensation," said Dimitar Dimitrov, chairman of the Regional Branch Organisation of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs.

At a protest in Haskovo, representatives of the industry said the new measures were ruining businesses built for years and forcing young people to emigrate.

Most of the dissatisfied in the country will join the national protest in Sofia tomorrow.

Protests will not stop the spread of the virus, nor will they reduce the number of hospitalisations and deaths from COVID-19, this was stated in the position of the Ministry of Health in response to the position announced earlier today by representatives of the restaurant industry, declaring readiness for civil disobedience to the anti-epidemic measures against the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

The Ministry of Health recalls that these measures were introduced after an in-depth discussion of each of them with the members of the Expert Councils.

The ministry reminds that currently, 4,284 patients with COVID-19 are in hospitals in Bulgaria, is, and 339 are in the intensive care units and their number is growing daily. This necessitates the temporary introduction of anti-epidemic measures.

The measures are introduced at the proposal of the Chief State Health Inspector and are in line with the National Operational Plan.