Bulgaria reports record high number of newly registered cases

436, or 153 more than yesterday, are the new cases of coronavirus registered in Bulgaria for the past 24 hours with 5,431 PCR tests performed. This means 8.03% of the tests returned positive. This is the highest number of newly registered cases per day since the beginning of the pandemic in Bulgaria. Most new cases have been registered in Sofia city - 135, followed by Plovdiv with 40, Burgas with 38, Stara Zagora with 27 and Blagoevgrad with 25 new cases, according to the National Coronavirus Information Portal. Eight people with Covid-19 died in the past 24 hours, 131 have recovered. There are currently 971 patients with coronavirus in hospital, 57 of them are in intensive care units.

New mewasures might be introduced in case number of infected rose

In the event of a prolonged rise in coronavirus infections, new anti-epidemic measures may be introduced in Bulgaria. This was announced for BNR by Bulgaria's Chief State Health Inspector Assoc. Prof. Angel Kunchev. According to him, the high number of new infections is mainly due to the wave that started in Europe about 3 weeks ago, i.e. the expected autumn second wave. "Another question is how fast it will develop, so that we do not allow the healthcare system to be so burdened that it cannot meet the demand for medical care," Kunchev said. Regarding the large number of hospitalized patients, Assoc. Prof. Kunchev said that currently there was no danger to the health system, as at this stage about 10-12% of the beds designated for Covid-19 in hospitals are occupied.

Regime for free PCR tests for Covid-19 being liberalized

General practitioners will have the right, under strict criteria, to issue referrals for free PCR testing to their patients who might have Covid-19, BNR has reported. The Minister of Health, the manager of the National Health Insurance Fund, the Medical Union and the National Operational Headquarters have agreed on this. Criteria for issuing the test referral are yet to be prepared. The possibility for free testing will be entered in an annex to the National Framework Agreement, it was reported. Until the signing of the annex, PCR tests will continue to be issued by specialists in infectious diseases, pulmonology and pediatrics, as well as by otolaryngologists.

Bulgarian vaccine against Covid-19 will work against all virus strains 

"By the New Year, the prototype of a Bulgarian vaccine against coronavirus will be ready, then we can start clinical trials", Assoc. Prof. Penka Petrova, Director of the Laboratory of Experimental Immunology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) said in an interview for the Bulgarian National Television (BNT). The price of the vaccine will depend on how much the state will be involved in its production. The Bulgarian protein vaccine is based on the genome and is expected to be effective against strains of the virus, Petrova pointed out.

You can find all stories and important publications related to Covid-19 in Bulgaria at our special coverage section in English.

You can also follow all latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak and all measures in Bulgaria in 9 more languages at Radio Bulgaria.

Editor: Gergana Mancheva