News briefing on Covid-19: Stricter anti-epidemic measures will be in effect across the country from Monday

Speaking at the regular weekly briefing on the coronavirus situation in the country, chief state health inspector Assoc. Prof. Angel Kunchev said that in terms of 14-day coronavirus mortality, Bulgaria is in the 4th place in the EU and in the 1st on the Balkan Peninsula.. In terms of morbidity in the EU, the country ranks 9th, after the Czech Republic, Estonia, Malta, Cyprus, Poland, Sweden and Slovakia and in third place on the Balkan Peninsula.

Assoc. Prof. Kunchev also said that except the district of Targovishte, the rest 27 districts in the country are designated as Covid-19 “red zones”. meaning the rate of infection is 120 or more cases per 100 000 population.

He added that morbidity was highest in the district of Bourgas, followed by Pleven, Sofia, Vratsa and Kyustendil, where the morbidity rates exceed 600 Covid-19 cases per 100 000 population.

According to him, the wave of coronavirus caused by the UK variant has spread across the continent, with the highest infection rates ​​currently in Central Europe and the Balkans. Assoc. Prof. Kunchev stressed that this has necessitated stricter anti-epidemic measures in Bulgaria, without going to extremes such as evening curfew and a ban on leaving home.

Regarding the morbidity per 100,000 people, the latest data shows 551 per 100,000 people, which is the average for the country. Compared to last week there is an increase of 40%, and based on a two-weeks basis , the incidence of Covid-19 has increased by 94%. In terms of mortality, there is a steep rise in the curve. In one week it has risen by 46%, and on a two-week basis by 124%.

This puts us in third place in the world in terms of the intensity of increase of Covid-19 associated deaths, and the country is behind the Czech Republic and Hungary. This is data from a specialized site in the New York Times for Pandemic Research as Dynamics. Bulgaria is the seventh country in the world in terms of the number of cases registered per day, the Head of the National Operational Headquarters and Chief of the Military Medical Academy, Major General Prof. Dr. Ventsislav Mutafchyiski said.

4,201 new cases of Covid-19 were registered in the country in the past 24 hours.

The highest number of positive cases were in Sofia – 1,097, followed by Varna - 305 and Bourgas - 291. For the past day, 1,641 people recovered and 136 died.

The vaccination process continues with the available doses, with 4,708 vaccines made in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 350,702, of which 63,752 have received the two doses.

Sofia is one of the districts with the highest increase in cases, commented the mayor of the capital Yordanka Fandakova. She told the briefing that the number of hospitalisations in Bulgaria’s capital city had increased by 35% in the past 10 days.

The numbers of new infections are close to the one from the previous peak at the end of November, when the highest number was 2,264 people registered on November 30.

She said that the number of patients in need of intensive care had increased by 36%.

March 18 was the third consecutive day that there were more than 1,000 newly registered case in Sofia.

There was also an increase in the number of children in need of hospitalisation, as well as an increase in the number of young people who are seriously ill, the mayor said.

New restrictive measures against the spread of the coronavirus come into force across the country for a period of 10 days, the National Operational Headquarters said.

The measures will take effect from Monday - March 22, Minister of Health Prof. Kostadin Angelov told the briefing.

"In the past 2-3 weeks, the cases of Covid-19 patients admitted to medical institutions, as well as the positive test results, continue to rise. All this motivates us to take restrictive measures for the whole country, which will be introduced from Monday and will last for 10 days," he said

• Visits to restaurants and entertainment establishments are suspended. Deliveries of meals to homes and offices will be allowed.
• Dining places at hotels should re-organise their work to arrange for guests to be served in their rooms.
• Gambling halls and casinos are closed.
• Visits to all retail outlets offering non-food items that have a net retail area of more than 300 square metres are suspended, with an exception for food shops, supermarkets..
• In shopping centres and malls, all shops must temporarily close, with exceptions for shops selling food, medical services, pharmacies, drugstores, opticians, pet shops, banks, insurance services, payment service providers, dry cleaners, telecommunications services and communication service providers.
• Congresses, conferences, seminars, competitions, training sessions, team building, exhibitions and all other in-person public events are suspended.
• Visits to fitness centres and group exercise halls are suspended.
• Cinemas, museums, galleries, concert and dance halls are suspended.
• No more than 15 people are allowed at private celebrations such as weddings and baptisms.
• Group and individual sports events are held without audience
• Group tourist trips, organised excursions and visits to tourist sites are suspended.
• In-person attendance classes at schools are suspended.Pupils from the first to the 12th grades will switch to distance learning.