President held a meeting with caretaker ministers regarding likely third wave of Covid-19

Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev on August 6 held a working meeting dedicated to trends of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. The topic was the necessary health and socio-economic measures to minimize the consequences of a possible new wave.

President Rumen Radev clarified that today's meeting is not to determine or discuss lockdown and closure of businesses, government agencies and schools, but to inform Bulgarians how the government is managing the crisis and what measures will be taken.

"The incidence of coronavirus is increasing every day and experts believe that we are on the verge of a new wave. In this regard, there must be clearly defined measures," the President said.

He congratulated the caretaker Minister of Health that for the first time there is a clear and detailed plan, including how to deploy the health system to minimize the consequences of the pandemic.

Radev reiterated that the goal is not to close businesses and the state, but what needs to be done to keep businesses functioning as much as possible.

Radev called on the caretaker Minister of Health for guarantees for calm and normal conditions for doctors and medical specialists and how they will be evaluated both morally and materially. He also expects a full mobilization of the Ministry of Health, dedicated to a possible new wave.
In addition to this crisis, there is also a wildfire crisis. A migrant crisis and a political crisis are knocking on the door, the President said.

THE WILDFIRES CRISIS

Radev informed that the wildfires in the country have been brought under control, but the fire in the Republic of North Macedonia is not far from our border. He called for a proper response to aid for people affected by the fires.

Caretaker Prime Minister, Stefan Yanev, informed that a working meeting had been held on actions for prevention and fight against fires.

"Unfortunately, the picture is not at all happy and we need to be vigilant. Indeed, the fires are now under control, but the danger is there," he said.

Bulgaria has sent teams to RNM so that the fire is prevented from reaching Bulgaria, he assured.

Yanev called on the municipal authorities in all affected areas to activate the commissions that assess the damages. The sooner there is an estimate, the sooner a decision can be made and those affected can be helped.

Caretaker Minister of Social Policy, Galab Donev, stated that BGN 540 assistance for the families of the forestry workers who died in the fires is not enough, but it is in accordance with the Social Security Code. However, a survivor's pension may be granted. A change in the legal framework is not necessary at the moment, because not all cases will be covered.

The Council of Ministers is also discussing the option of granting targeted assistance to the families of the victims.

THE HEALTH CRISIS

Regarding the health crisis, caretaker Prime Minister Yanev said that they rely on the experts of the Ministry of Health, as well as on the plan prepared by them, which should be flexible in terms of recommendations and measures to be taken. The caretaker Prime Minister said that we could not afford to close businesses so easily because some businesses may not re-open after that.

Regarding the vaccination, Yanev said that those who are vaccinated recover from the new Delta variant more easily.

Caretaker Minister of Health Dr. Stoycho Katsarov repeated the words of the President that in the opinion of most experts, Bulgaria is on the threshold of a third wave. We are still in the Covid-19 green zone, the number of active cases is significantly lower than in neighbouring countries. However, according to the trend, in 7-10 days, Bulgaria we will enter the so-called orange zone or second level of danger – more than 100 cases per 100,000 people.

Katsarov said that the Ministry of Health has developed a plan for the options for the spread of the virus, including the worst situation. All necessary measures are planned, including for the work of the healthcare system - hospital care, emergency care, medicines.

Each of the districts has the necessary level of readiness for patients with Covid-19, there is the necessary provision of medicines for the treatment of the patients, steps have been taken to provide reserves - additional quantities of medicines. For the most part, our country is ready to meet the next wave of Covid, said the Minister of Health.

What cannot be changed is the low level of vaccination, a result of the catastrophic start of the vaccination process with a lack of vaccines and contradictory messages, which has created an attitude against vaccines, he added.

Katsarov cited positive statistics - so far nearly 70% of doctors have been vaccinated, and the number of vaccinated people over the age of 60 is high.

Nearly 1 million people have received one dose of the vaccine.

Katsarov said that they urgently need to update the budget, as all reserves for the payment of the front line medical professionals have been completely exhausted.

The payment methodology has been changed, but if the National Assembly does not adopt an urgent update, there will be no reserves to meet the growing funding needs during the epidemic, including medicines. An update of the NHIF budget is also needed, added the caretaker Minister of Health.

Katsarov said that the main responsibility for how well we will cope with the crisis lies with each of us.

Asked by the President, the caretaker health minister said financial support was needed for additional Covid-related payments. This support cannot be postponed and he hopes that the National Assembly will solve this problem as soon as possible.

The system has enough tests, protective clothing, disinfectants, the minister assured.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC MEASURES

The necessary socio-economic measures that must be taken to help business and employment are ready, said caretaker Minister of Social Affairs, Galab Donev.

The job retention measure 60/40 continues, but with a changed design. It will continue to run until the end of the year. Funds have been provided for its implementation by the end of July.

Galab Donev appealed to the National Assembly to consider the budget update so that this support can continue. If the update does not happen quickly, reserves should be sought in the budget for the BGN 50 supplement per month for pensioners.

Donev informed that the registered unemployed as at the beginning of August were 165,557 people, which is 5.04%. This is the lowest unemployment rate so far, he said. The problem is the shortage of skilled labour.

The ministry is ready to launch anti-crisis measures in the event of a new wave. The provision of funds is through programs for job retenetion, through the use of unspent resources under OP "Human Resources". Donev also cited measures to support the hotel and tourism industries.

THE SITUATION IN TOURISM

To date, we have a relatively normal season, said the caretaker Minister of Tourism, Stella Baltova.

She informed that for the sector, any health measure should be linked to an economic support measure. She said that checks for observance of the anti-epidemic measures and rules in the accommodation places are being carried out. The introductions of the so-called health protocol, which indicates in what measures should be taken by accommodation places and restaurants.

According to the protocol, there are two places for accommodation for contact persons, required to be quarantined. One place is on the North Black Sea coast, the other on the South Black Sea coast.

A system has been proposed to promote vaccination through vouchers and payment cards, Baltova added. One of the big resorts already has the label "100% vaccinated staff", and on Monday such a label will be put on large tour operators in the country.

In addition to the 60/40 and 50/50 measures, the measure to subsidize charter flights with EUR 35 per seat is also being implemented. A second phase is underway for tour operators who have failed to recover receivables from their customers. The guides are also supported. The measure for free-of-charge holidays for students continues, which supports all parts of the tourism busines," Baltova said.

THE CHALLENGES FOR THE EDUCATION

The efforts of the Ministry of Education are focused on 3 groups of activities related to the start of the new school year, informed the caretaker Minister of Education, Nikolay Denkov.

The first group is a guide for action in epidemic conditions. The first version of the plan is ready and after discussion, at the end of August, will be brought to the attention of heads of schools and teachers.

The second group of activities is related to the preparation for a possible transition to distance learning. The analysis shows that there are children who have great difficulty with distance learning. Part of the problem is the lack of electronic devices. There is also a lack of internet access to many places, which is more a matter of organization.

"For us, it is crucial that the maximum training is in in-person attendance environment, which is much better. Therefore, the third group of activities is related to increasing the share of vaccinated in our system," said Denkov.

He informed that about 40% of the heads of schools and 30% of the teachers have been vaccinated by July. This is not enough and in order not to put the system at risk, a campaign has been launched that seeks to provide the most important medical information about the benefits of vaccines.

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