News briefing on coronavirus: Bulgaria is far from building herd immunity

news briefing coronavirus bulgaria far building herd immunity

Снимка:

от БНТ

14:17, 29.10.2020

The increase in hospitalized patients with coronavirus is worrying. The number of people admitted to hospital increases by a third every week, and 7% of patients need intensive care. This was announced on October 29 by Deputy Minister of Health Boyko Penkov at the regular weekly briefing on the spread of COVID-19 in Bulgaria. Mortality is also rising, with a 50% increase in the last week alone.

"Susceptibility to the disease remains high. We are far from building collective immunity," said Dr. Penkov.

In the recent days, a 102% increase in the average weekly number of infected has been registered. There is a daily positivity growth. Increase in the number of the infected is reported at all ages. There is a serious increase in infected students in secondary and high schools.

At the moment, Bulgaria ranks 21st in the EU and 2nd on the Balkan Peninsula in terms of COVID-19 morbidity and 10th in the EU in terms of mortality and 4th in the Balkans, he concluded.

2760 are the new cases of coronavirus in Bulgaria for the past 24 hours. This is 27.7% from the 9,946 tests.162 people are in intensive care units. The recoveries for the past day are 216. The deaths are 36.

The masks will protect us from the coronavirus, said Prof. Todor Kantardzhiev, director of the National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCIPD). He reiterated his call for the measures prescribed by the authorities to be observed.

"The most important thing is to control over the compliance with the measures and the people’s awareness that they should be wearing masks. We should all think about our health and that of others. If someone is ill, the mask protect you over 30%. A mask will protect you from coronavirus. The most important thing is control and self-control, " said Prof. Kantardzhiev.

As of today, additional beds for medical treatment are being opened in Pirogov Hospital, announced the director of the medical institution, Prof. Asen Baltov. Further 30 beds will be opened to treat patients in moderate condition, he added.

"The emergency departments are exhausted. Our appeal to everyone is to help fight coronavirus infection together. Be involved in this process - wear masks, keep physical distance. Follow the measures and be disciplined," he urged.

More than 2,300 are hospitalized for COVID-19, and at this rate their number is expected to reach 4,000 within a week, Prof. Baltov predicted. It is mandatory to include private hospitals. Today in "Pirogov" additional beds will be placed for the treatment of medics. Additional 30 beds will be opened for the treatment of patients in moderate condition.

The director of "Alexandrovska" University Hospital Prof. Boris Bogov also called for compliance with the measures and clarified that the hospital is no exception to the situation in the country.

Schools should not be in a hurry to close, they have to act depending on the situation locally, but it is a fact that the situation with the coronavirus is getting more complicated, the Minister of Education Krassimir Valchev said.

"In-person attendance is the best and we should not glorify e-learning, because it has deficits in socialization, mental fatigue and deficits even in the effective educational process," said the education minister.