Head of Sofia Regional Health Inspectorate: Covid-19 curfew is not necessary at the moment

At the moment, it is not necessary to impose a curfew in Sofia, Dr. Dancho Penchev, director of Regional Health Inspectorate- Sofia told BT breakfast show "The day begins" on March 17 after it became clear yesterday that tightening of the anti-epidemic measures was being considered due to the increased number of Covid-19 cases and the pressure on the hospitals in the capital city.

Since the beginning of the year on the territory of Sofia - district there are 21,018 positive cases, as 9,730 are new only from March 1. A total of 385 people have died since January 1, and 97 died in the past 15 days. 163 medical professionals tested positive for the virus in the past 15 days.The number of contact children in kindergartens and nurseries is 2,957, and the number of school students is 4,131.

Nearly 1,500 calls for Covid-19 patients were received by the Medical Emergency Service in Sofia in just one week.

We are facing a situation similar to the one from the end of October and the beginning of November last year, but now the things are developing faster. The situation is very serious, Dr. Penchev was firm.

A careful assessment must be made of the capabilities of each hospital in terms of bed capacity, structure, staff, so RHI-Sofia approaches each hospital individually. The pressure on the medical establishments is very serious, the dynamics is very high, because people brought by ambulances, or people who use their own transport to get to the emergency units or are sent by general practitioners are hospitalized, added Dr. Penchev.

What Sofia RHI proposes as measures to limit the spread of the virus is:

· closing of malls, shopping centres, fitness centres, restaurants for 14 days, starting from Saturday (March 20) in the morning

· kindergartens and nurseries, schools, extracurricular activities to temporary close to in-person attendance;

· all cultural events will be temporarily suspended - theatres, operas, cinemas.

The proposals are specific, clear, will be in effect for a certain period of time. The situation will be closely monitored. If it were possible to wave a magic wand and stop the virus, we would have done it, but unfortunately it finds new forms, said Dr. Penchev.

Analyzing the situation, we found that the intercity travel check points, which last year were temporarily introduced at entrances and exits of the cities did not give the necessary effect and we are more conservative in the restrictive measures, he added.

The new measures in Sofia will come into force on Saturday, from Monday - maybe in the whole country

When asked about the seniors only shopping hours at supermarkets, Dr. Penchev said that there was a period during which this measure was neglected, but it is and will continues to be in force.

We have not proposed a ban for hairdressers, for casinos and dance schools, he said in response to a question.

In Sofia, there are children's Covid-19 wards in "Pirogov", "St. Anna" and the Pediatric Hospital. There are also neonatology beds for newborns, because there are quite a few mothers with coronavirus, added the director of RHI-Sofia.

Regarding the situation with the vaccines, Dr. Penchev explained that the official opinion of the EMA on the Astra Zeneca vaccine is expected on Thursday. On Monday, 21,060 Pfizer vaccines arrived in Bulgaria, and on Friday we are waiting for the first delivery of a total of 85,000 doses of Moderna,

There are cases of infections with COVID-19 between the first and second shots of the vaccines. There are positive cases after the second shot as well, but they are asymptomatic, added Dr. Penchev.

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