Covid-19 in Bulgaria: Day 150

published on 8/4/20 6:59 PM

Vazrazhdane nursery home for senior citizens in Ruse

Photo: Archive

Health Minister: Measures against Covid-19 in Bulgaria are sufficient

The measures introduced against the coronavirus infection in Bulgaria are sufficient. There is no need to expand them or introduce new ones. This was stated by Bulgaria's Minister of Health Kostadin Angelov at a briefing after a meeting with the expert councils on epidemiology and virology.

A comparison of the data for the last two weeks with the previous two shows a decrease in the number of new cases in Bulgaria by 9.8%. The number of patients aged 15 to 29 is increasing. In May they were 10%, in June - 16%, in July - 25%.

Currently, the total number of infected people in the country is 12,159. There are 823 patients in hospitals, 43 are in intensive care units. 712 are the cases among medical professionals, or 5.85% of all infected Bulgarians. So far, a total of 6,684 people were cured. The Covid-19 death toll has reached 404 persons.

There is currently a controlled problem with coronavirus infection in two nursery homes for senior citizens - in Ruse and Varna. 91 positive tests were confirmed in the Vazrazhdane nursery home in Ruse. 8 are of staff members and 83 elderly people accommodated in the home, of whom 26 are hospitalized and three have died. In a private home nursery home for senior citizens in Varna, there are 93 positive samples among the residents and 9 among the staff, 4 people are in hospital, and 5 people have died.

At the moment there is no significant pressure on the hospital system on the territory of Bulgaria, Minister Angelov stressed during the briefing Minister Angelov.

Bulgaria reports 204 new cases, record high number of new deaths - 16 in 24 hours

The new cases of coronavirus registered in this country for the past 24 hours are 204 after 4 137 PCR tests, according to the official data published on the Unified Information Portal. In the past 24 hours, 16 people passed away and 264 recovered. 823 patients are in hospital as 43 are in intensive care units.

Most of the new cases were registered in Sofia - 51, followed by Varna - 42 and Dobrich - 19.

Rise in unemployment, new boom in jobless people expected in autumn

After a temporary drop, for the second consecutive week the number of persons newly registered as unemployed in Bulgaria exceeds the number of those who found new jobs through state-run employment agencies - respectively 5,100 and a little over 4,000 persons. This is indicated by data from the National Statistical Institute and the state-run Employment Agency in a special monitoring of the labour market amidst the Covid-19 crisis. The monitoring is conducted each week since February 3. Since then until August 2 inclusive, the number of people who registered as unemployed has reached a little over 234,000 persons, and those who found new jobs via employment agencies amount to 137,000 people, BNR reports.

Trade unions in Bulgaria predict there will be a new spike in unemployment in autumn resulting from the end of the seasonal jobs in tourism and agriculture.

Tourist sector calls for restart and no PCR testing

Tour operators, travel agents and tour guides from the Future for Tourism Association rallied in front of the parliament building in Sofia. They call for a clear commitment of the government to financial assistance, providing liquidity to companies and restarting the sector, as well as tourism without a mandatory requirement for PCR tests.

Carrying posters "SOS tourism! We want to work", the tour operators pointed out that they are waiting for the promised program to save the sector.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov announced that about 5 million euros would be allocated to help tourism. However, according to industry representatives, this assistance is not enough.

Bulgarian Academy of Science will finance project for Bulgarian vaccine against Covid-19

The probability of a second peak of Covid-19 is real. The pandemic is steady, depending on level of compliance with anti-epidemic measures. We are currently seeing the effect of lifting the restrictions after the initial strict measures, Prof. Hristo Naydenski, head of the Department of Infectious Microbiology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences – BAS, has told the BNR.

Maybe at the end of the year, if a vaccine was found, governments would ease restrictions, the scientist said. Prof. Naydenski explained that due to different evaluation criteria and in order not to stop the financing of other projects, the project for Bulgarian vaccine against coronavirus will not receive money from the Research Fund but will be financed from the reserve funds of BAS.

Compiled by Gergana Mancheva and Radio Bulgaria's News Team

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