Covid-19 in Bulgaria: Day 81

Bulgarians must be informed about conditions in countries they travel to

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva expressed hope that movement within the European Union and within neighboring countries, which have a similar epidemiological risk, will be restored on June 15. The Minister added that the requirement for social distance will probably be maintained throughout most of the summer. Zaharieva once again called on Bulgarians who go for seasonal work abroad to be carefully informed about the requirements of the country they are traveling to.

Bulgaria could receive 11.7 billion euros from European Reconstruction Fund

Bulgaria could receive a net worth of 11.7 billion euros if the rescue plan proposed today by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was approved. According to the plan, the next EU budget should provide about 750 billion euros to stabilize European economies after the coronavirus crisis. According to the document, Bulgaria will receive 15 billion euros from this fund. At the same time, our country will have to contribute to the fund with 3.3 billion euros.

No bar tours this tourist season

Bar tours are banned for this tourist season, keeping in mind the situation with Covid-19, Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova has told parliament. In relation with the forthcoming opening of indoor parts of restaurants on June 1, the Minister said that instructions were being prepared together with the Ministry of Health, which will be generally similar to those for open areas and terraces. We have been preparing protocols for the resumption of tourist trips, Bulgaria's Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova said in a video conference with the ambassadors of EU countries in Bulgaria.

For another day recovered patients are more than new cases

17 are the newly established cases of coronavirus in Bulgaria during the past 24 hours and recovered patients are 32. 1,557 tests were carried out as the total number of coronavirus infections has reached 2,460, said Assoc. Prof. Dimo Dimov, Secretary of the National Operational Headquarters. 217 patients have been hospitalized, 22 of them in intensive care units. There are no new infected persons under 18 years of age. Three new deaths have been registered in the past 24 hours - a 70-year-old woman in Plovdiv, a 74-year-old woman in Sliven and a 73-year-old woman in Sofia, all with comorbidities.

3 foreign workers from Balkan Stream gas pipeline test positive for Covid-19

Among the announced 17 new coronavirus cases in Bulgaria in the past 24 hours, three are from the group of workers who arrived for the construction of the Balkan Stream gas pipeline near Novi Pazar in north-eastern Bulgaria. All three were in contact with the worker who was admitted to the Shumen-based hospital for treatment on May 25. The three workers have no symptoms of Covid-19 and do not need to be hospitalized. They have been put in isolation from their colleagues. All construction workers live in a designated workers' village on the site outside the town of Novi Pazar. The entire group of 130 people strictly observed the 14-day quarantine after arriving in Bulgaria, and in practice the builders had no contact with the residents of the area, the health authorities reported.

Quarantine over village of Yasenovets near Razgrad lifted

The 14-day quarantine imposed on May 15 in the Razgrad village of Yasenovets has been lifted. The checkpoints placed at all entrances and exits of the village have been removed. The Regional Crisis Headquarters believes that the rapid and adequately implemented anti-epidemic measure has played its role. For ten days now, no new cases of coronavirus have been registered in the village. However, the increased police presence of mobile patrols in Yasenovets remains as a preventive measure.

Bulgarian sailors call for lifting quarantine for ship crews

Bulgarian maritime organizations have filed a petition to the Bulgarian authorities and the European Parliament to lift the quarantine for ship's crews. They want free access to ships and air travel after a negative Covid-19 test. They recall that the measure was lifted for transport workers in the EU. According to those affected, there is no difference between EU bus drivers for whom the measure has been lifted and sailors. The petitioners consider it a paradox that according to the International EU Certificate the sailors are categorized as transport workers, but according to the Bulgarian institutions this was not the case.

Bulgarian hoteliers ready to offer price discounts

49.1% of the Bulgarian hotels are planning to offer their clients an alternative period to use their holiday bookings. 62.9% intend to reduce the price of package services and 46,7% are planning to cut prices of accommodation, data of a survey conducted by the National Statistical Institute in April among hoteliers who were forced to suspend their business due to the state of emergency show.

Unemployment indicators take reverse course

For the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis in Bulgaria, the number of newly employed persons is higher than those newly registered at the employment offices. In the week of May 18-24, a total of 8,028 people found jobs, while the newly unemployed persons numbered 7,225, the National Statistical Institute reported. The most critical was the week from April 6 to 12, when the new unemployed were 31,499, while the newcomers were almost 10 times less or only 2,985 people. Since March 13, 39,076 people have found jobs, with the peak of new appointments on May 22 with 1,600 persons started a new job. Although hotels and restaurants were closed in April, bartenders, waiters, cooks and maids were in demand at employment offices, according to statistics.

Editor: Gergana Mancheva + News Team

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