Bulgarian government extends epidemic declaration until August 31

The Bulgarian government has decided to extend the term of the declared emergency epidemic situation from August 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020, the press service of the cabinet announced.

The prolongation of the epidemic emergency situation related to the spread of Covid-19 in the country will allow to strengthen the implementation of temporary anti-epidemic measures in order to limit the spread of the disease and protect the lives and health of citizens, the statement said.

Bulgaria allows entry of tourists from some non-EU countries with negative PCR test

As of 28 July, the citizens of North Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Moldova, Israel and Kuwait are allowed to enter the territory of Bulgaria as tourists provided they have a negative PCR test performed up to 72 hours prior to entering the country.

For tourists coming from Ukraine this measure will be valid as of 30 July.

Foreign citizens from third countries, arriving for seasonal work, educational purposes, for humanitarian reasons or business will also be allowed to enter Bulgaria with a negative PCR test.

PCR tests are not required for arrivals from countries members of the EU, the UK, Schengen agreement countries, as well as Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay. They will not be subject to 14-day quarantine either. 

Sofia tops chart of biggest number of Covid-19 infections

194 new Covid-19 cases have been registered in Bulgaria over the past 24 hours out of 3,832 PCR tests performed, indicate data from the single information portal. 7 persons have died over the past 24 hours, and 230 have recovered. A total of 686 patients with coronavirus are in hospital, of them 39 in ICU.

Sofia has the biggest number of new infections - 60, followed by Varna – 25, and Blagoevgrad - 19.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country is 10,621, of them 5,585 have recovered, or around 53%. The number of active cases is 4,689.

Cyprus also introduces quarantine on arrivals from Bulgaria

As of August 1, Bulgaria will be placed into the group of the most risky countries for visiting Cyprus. Talking to the BNR, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health in Nicosia Margarita Kiriaku clarified that only Bulgarian citizens who have a permanent residence permit on the island, as well as Cypriot citizens arriving from Bulgaria, will be able to enter the country.

They must present a negative PCR test taken in the last 72 hours before the flight or do so on arrival in Cyprus. In addition, all of them will have to remain in a 14-day home quarantine.

Two packages of measures announced for coping with effects of Covid-19

Bulgaria's Economy Minister Lachezar Borissov has presented new measures to support businesses. The first package is fully funded by the budget with 594 m euros. The second package for 920 m euros will be implemented directly by the ministry. Another 200 m euros will be added to them under the EU's REACT-EU program.

Special emphasis is placed on investments in 56 projects for 350 million euros and over 8,000 jobs. Outside of them, new investments worth over 500 m euros are expected, which the country will try to attract, the minister said. Employers' representatives will be part of a supervisory body for the distribution of EU funds.

Tour operators call for urgent measures in support of tourist sector

Tour operators organized a protest in front of the Council of Ministers building in Sofia today.They are demanding a meeting with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov to discuss how their businesses could be helped. They also want the immediate implementation of grant schemes and social investments for those affected most badly – the people working in outbound tourism and tourist guides. The protesters point out that they have been out of work since the start of the pandemic in March and that some are on the verge of survival. They say that the efforts of the government are targeted solely at inbound tourism.

Earlier today, the newly appointed Minister of Tourism Mariyana Nikolova said in an interview for BNT that 38,000 people are currently benefitting from the voucher system in support of tourism. The ministry is relying on the number of tourists going up in August.

In June the biggest number of foreign citizens visiting Bulgaria were from Romania, Turkey and Serbia

In June 2020, during the ongoing epidemic situation in Bulgaria, Bulgarians travelled 286,100 times to other countries, which is a reduction of 60.1% compared to June 2019. The number of visits by foreigners to Bulgaria in June 2020 shrank by 75.2% compared to June, 2019, and stands at 380,700.

The biggest decline is in the number of people travelling on holiday and excursion - 94.6%. The biggest number of visitors to Bulgaria were from Romania – 101,830, Turkey– 71,613, Serbia– 53,924, and Greece– 40,491.

5,945 persons travelled to Bulgaria from the UK.

Compiled by Darina Grigorova and Radio Bulgaria's News Team

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