National Crisis Staff urges the public not to go to church at Easter

Three people died as a result of COVID-19 in Bulgaria on Saturday. All three were patients at hospitals in Sofia and had underlying chronic diseases. This brings the number of people who have died of coronavirus up to 17. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country is 503, the number of people who have recovered - 34. 192 people with confirmed COVID-19 have been hospitalized, 26 of them are in intensive care. 287 is the number of men infected with coronavirus, and 216 of women. The average age of the people with confirmed COVID-19 is 47.

At this morning’s briefing General Ventislav Mutafchiyski, head of the National Crisis Staffcalled on the public not to assemble or go to church during the upcoming Easter holidays so as to prevent the spread of the infection.

Bulgaria informs the Council of Europe of the measures taken to check the spread of coronavirus

Bulgaria has officially informed the Council of Europe about the state of emergency, introduced on 13 March, 2020, the law on measures and actions during the state of emergency, adopted on 23 March, 2020, and the amendments to the health act which came into force on 14 March, 2020. The measures have been taken due to the pandemic which has arisen and the fact that it is essential to protect the health of the people and check the spread of COVID-19. The temporary restriction of the rights of the citizens and the persons residing on the territory of the country will only last for the duration of the state of emergency, according to the note verbale.

Boyko Borissov: In 2-3 weeks’ time we shall be in hell, I don’t see any point in talking about seasonal workers

Commenting on the European Commission recommendation for facilitating the free movement of seasonal workers, PM Boyko Borissov commented that now is not the time for such reasoning. He said that he was not contesting the free movement of people, including the hiring of seasonal workers by countries members of the EU, but added that he does not think Bulgarian citizens should leave for high-risk countries, such as Austria, which urgently hired Bulgarian caregivers.
I do not think it is fair for them to go to Austria to work as caregivers, and then when their contracts expire, to come back here and bring the infection back with them, and for all other citizens to then have to pay for them, Boyko Borissov said. In 2-3 weeks we may find ourselves in hell and I don’t see any point in talking about seasonal workers, we have not got to the worst part yet, we are slowly advancing towards it.

New application Virusave will help us know more in the conditions of pandemic

A national information system for combatting COVID-19 was presented today at a briefing at the Council of Ministers. It will facilitate the work of the national crisis staff and of the medical establishments, as well as access to information. It will enable the public to submit information about their current state of health, as well as information about the spread of the infection nationwide as well as locally. The system provides contact with GPs, municipalities, regional health inspection authorities, the Interior Ministry, volunteers etc. It was developed on the basis of analysis software used in mobile applications in Singapore, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan. The platform will be made available within days via the application Virusave.

Bulgaria in the world fight against COVID-19

Two plants in Bulgaria are starting manufacturing trials of ventilators, and if they are successful, they will be sent for certification in Europe, said Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at a press conference at the Council of Ministers. He announced that two of the most highly advanced European countries have laboratory tested protective clothing made in Bulgaria, and have ordered thousands of items. Safety glasses and visors made in this country have also been sent to laboratories for certification.