41 new cases of coronavirus, 138 recovered patients in Bulgaria in past 24 hours

41 new cases of coronavirus infection have been registered in the past 24 hours. That's 6 more than the day before. The conducted tests are 1,196. The total number of registered coronavirus patients in Bulgaria has reached 2,668 people.

The active cases of the infection are 980. T total of 1,528 people have been cured, 138 of them have been registered in the last 24 hours. There are 147 patients in medical institutions. 12 of them are in intensive care units.

The national information system shows that 288 medical professionals have been infected so far. For the last 24 hours, 2 new cases have been registered among medical staff  - 2 nurses from Samokov.

For the past day one person has died with an established Covid-19 infection at the age of 60. Thus, the total number of coronavirus deaths since the beginning of the epidemic has reached 160.

Curbing the new Covid-19 outbreaks to be done without extreme measures

The new outbreaks of coronavirus in Bulgaria can be curbed without resorting to extreme measures such as imposing full quarantine and setting up entry and exit checkpoints, Bulgaria's Chief State Inspector Assoc. Prof. Angel Kunchev told Nova TV channel. Most of the newly infected persons for the past day are from the new hotspots - in Sarnitsa, Samokov and Sliven.

Increasing the daily number of newly diagnosed infections should draw people's attention to the fact that the virus continues to circulate. The measures we are taking to limit it are still relevant, said the chief state inspector.

10 coronavirus patients infect between 8 and 5 new persons

The epidemic is subsiding, but nothing is yet over. The relaxing of the measures would quickly lead to the emergence of new clusters of Covid-19, the director of the National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Prof. Todor Kantardzhiev told the BNT. According to the professor, the outbreak in Sarnitsa is due to the gathering of many people during the Muslim holidays.

10 patients already infect from 8 to 5 people, so we are going down with the spread of the infection. When we were asked when the peak will be, we said the peak would be in mid or late-April. That's exactly what happened, but the peak was not in the entire country and not in all the hospitals. It happened only in certain areas, Kantardzhiev explained.

Bulgaria helps evacuate citizens of 14 European countries from Nigeria

Germany has extended thanks to Bulgaria for repatriating 30 German citizens from Nigeria onboard a Bulgarian evacuation flight. Bulgaria not only offered the opportunity for the return of our citizens, but also did everything necessary for their smooth transfer to Germany. This is a huge example of European cooperation, which we welcome, says a letter from the Foreign Ministry in Berlin.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that only together can we tackle the global challenges we face, the letter said. Thanks to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry were also sent by France, the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Greece, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Cyprus, whose citizens also managed to return onboard the flights from Nigeria.

Two-thirds of the unemployed during the pandemic find new jobs

Since the start of the state of emergency in Bulgaria, 90,000 people lost their jobs, while almost 57,000 have found new jobs. Every day there are people who lose their jobs and find new employment. The good thing is that in the last two weeks there are more people who find a job than those who lose theirs, Bulgaria's Minister of Social Affairs Denitsa Sacheva told Nova TV. She added that social measures work.

For almost 50 days, there has been a continuous increase in the number of people applying for the 60/40 employment support measure. More than 16,000 applications have been submitted, covering 260,000 employees and workers, Sacheva added.

Local authorities to have leading role in post-pandemic recovery

The representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria has called on the regional and local authorities to play a leading role in the recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. When developing EU programs, it is important that, taking into account local priorities, investments are made in critical areas such as healthcare, climate change and digitization. We should focus on building local capacity for the use of financial instruments under the future InvestEU program, said Bulgaria's MEP Maria Gabriel.

An intelligent approach to investment will ensure sustainable and integrated local development as the European Committee of the Regions will draw up a joint EU action plan with concrete initiatives, Gabriel promises.

Bulgaria is among few countries with resumed football championship in front of live audience

Bulgaria's Minister of Sport Krasen Kralev has voiced his satisfaction with the renewal of the football season. Bulgaria is one of the few countries where football is played in front of spectators in the stadium stands, Kralev said.

On Facebook, the minister wrote: “Unlike other European countries, Bulgaria has allowed fans to support their favorite teams from the stadium stands".

This was also reported on by Italian media. "Corriere dello Sport" and "Tuttosport" wrote: "Bulgaria has shown how there can be fans in the stadiums".

Compiled by Ivo Ivanov

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