Wearing masks outdoors is mandatory from October 22 to end of November

Wearing protective masks in the open becomes mandatory on October 22, Health Minister Kostadin Angelov said during a visit to Lovech, BTA has reported. Our goal is to reduce the number of infected Bulgarians so that fewer of them go to hospitals and there are fewer deaths, Minister Angelov added. A day is given so that all citizens could buy masks by Thursday. The measures are the same for everyone. Masks will be mandatory until the end of November if the situation remained unchanged. The education process will continue in schools, the minister said. Also from October 22, the previous 14-day quarantine is reduced to ten days, but under certain conditions, Minister Angelov said.

National Logistics Center to coordinate the fight against Covid-19

A National Logistics Center will start operating in Bulgaria next week, with the task of improving communication between the various healthcare units and improving the medical care for patients with a coronavirus infection. This was announced by the Bulgarian Ministry of Health. The center will have a 24-hour mode of operation. The country will be conditionally divided into six main regions. In the event of a problematic situation, the National Centre will assist in its timely resolution.

Expert councils support mask-wearing outdoors 

The Ministry of Health’s expert councils of epidemiology and infectious diseases support wearing a mask outdoors. This was announced after they held an online meeting. The experts also discussed the possibility of reducing quarantine for contact persons from 14 to 10 days. A survey conducted by Trend sociological agency indicates that half of Bulgarians do not want a return to stricter measures against the spread of Covid-19.

23% of PCR tests return positive for Covid-19 in past 24 hours

Bulgaria has registered a total of 1,024 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, which is 23.24% of the 4,406 PCR tests performed. The highest number of new cases was recorded in Sofia - 292, Plovdiv - 109, Burgas - 63, Blagoevgrad - 60, and Varna - 56. This is shown by the data of the National Coronavirus Information Portal. There are 88 patients diagnosed with Covid-19 in intensive care, which is 14 people more than yesterday. 210 patients have recovered in the past day. There have been 22 new deaths related to Covid-19. A total of 1,008 people have died of coronavirus infection since the beginning of the pandemic.

Bulgaria is among most financially affected EU countries

The incomes of 53% of Bulgarians have been affected by the economic consequences caused by Covid-19, according to a study by Kantar, commissioned by the European Parliament. Another 26 percent of Bulgarians expect their incomes to be affected soon, although they have not yet felt the effects of the crisis, BNR's Horizont program reported. Out of the 27 EU Member States Bulgaria ranks among the most severely affected in financial terms. On a European scale, 39 percent of respondents say their incomes have been affected by the pandemic. Only Cyprus, Greece, Spain and Romania have a share higher than 53%, according to a survey conducted between September 25th and October 7th.

Vice President wants national pandemic action plan

During a visit to Ruse, Vice President Iliana Yotova called on the government and parliament to draw up a national action plan for the Covid-19 pandemic, BTA has reported. The plan should provide for measures on sanitary and health issues and for the protection of the Bulgarian economy. Yotova says that the "60/40" measure has probably yielded some results, but it was not a preventive measure for a possible future situation, which could be even more severe. She has also called for plans for compensating parents who, in case of closed schools, might have to look after their children at home. According to the vice president, the proposed wearing of protective masks outdoors is not the measure that would solve the problems.

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Compiled by: Gergana Mancheva