Term of validity of ID documents extended by 6 months

The term of validity of Bulgarian identity cards and passports, expiring in the period from 13 March 2020 to 31 January 2021, is extended by six months. This was decided by the parliament by force of the amendments to the Law on Measures and Actions during the state of emergency adopted at second reading, BTA reports.
So far, this text in the law only referred to ID cards expiring by 31 October 2020. For the period of extension, ID cards and passports are valid identity documents in Bulgaria, and abroad - in terms of reciprocity.
At the request of the person in question, identity documents may be issued before the expiration of the extended period.
The term of validity of the driver's licenses, which expires in the period from 13 March 2020 to 31 December 2020, is extended by 7 months from the date of expiration of the term for the respective license.

New anti-coronavirus measures in place in Sofia as of 7 November

Children will not be allowed to go to shopping malls unless they are accompanied by an adult. A “green corridor” will be introduced for shopping at groceries for senior citizens from 10 AM until 12 noon.
These are some of the measures being put in place by order of the Sofia Operational Headquarters chaired by Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandakova. Diagnostic and consultative centres will engage in consultations of patients with mild flu-like symptoms. A team comprising a doctor, a nurse or a lab technician will carry out medical examinations, and, if necessary, conduct blood and antigen tests. Patients must have talked to their GPs in advance to obtain a referral for the tests necessary.

Bulgarian doctors propose using Covid-19 antigen tests

Bulgaria's National Association of General Practitioners has issued an opinion on the procedure for detecting the Covid-19 infection. General practitioners suggest that an initial antigen test be performed to prove the presence of the virus, and that a positive result should be a reason for quarantine or hospitalization depending on the severity of the case.
Antigen tests should be performed no later than the 4th day after the onset of symptoms, the association says.

Hoteliers offer 3,000 beds to help healthcare system

Bulgaria’s hotel sector is ready to provide over 3,000 beds across the country to accommodate quarantined persons, people in self-isolation, relatives of Covid-19 patients and medics seconded to other towns and cities. The issue will be discussed on Monday by representatives of the tourist sector and Bulgaria’s Ministry of Health, BNR’s Polly Nacheva reports.
This measure will support both the healthcare system and the tourism sector which will receive money from the state in return, Rumen Draganov, Director of the Institute for Analysis and Assessment in Tourism said in an interview for BNR.
“The price for staying at a hotel is four times lower than the hospital rates”, Rumen Draganov pointed out.

Norway to require negative PCR tests for arrivals from Bulgaria

As of November 9, Norway will require a negative PCR test from all arrivals from Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. The PCR tests must be performed no later than 72 hours prior to arrival and must be translated into English or Norwegian.
Following a decision by the Norwegian cabinet, Bulgaria was included in the red list of countries with a high risk of Covid-19 infection.

Burgas Airport prepares laboratory for PCR tests

Burgas Airport is planning to launch a laboratory before next year’s summer tourist season where tourists will be able to undergo rapid testing for Covid-19, the newly-appointed Executive Director of the concessionaire of Burgas Airport Frank Quante said in an interview for BNR Burgas.
The laboratory will conduct PCR tests which are very important for certain markets such as the Israeli market where people are obliged to undergo Covid-19 tests when they return to their country. Thus, they will be able to do this test at the airport before their departure and can check the results on their mail. In Frank Quante’s view, rapid 20-minute PCR tests will be available in 2021.

Bulgaria reports 3,754 new cases of Covid-19 and 762 new recoveries

3,754 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Bulgaria in the past 24 hours out of 11,131 PCR tests performed. 33.73% of all PCR tests have returned positive. The highest number of newly confirmed cases of coronavirus is in Sofia-1,264, followed by Plovdiv-367, Varna-293 and Burgas-266, data of the Single Information Portal show. There are 44,118 active cases of Covid-19. 116 medics have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. 3,424 patients are receiving treatment in hospitals, 250 of whom in intensive care. 762 people have recovered and 52 have died in the past 24 hours.

What are the benefits of introducing more measures, if they are not observed: Deputy Premier Donchev

Currently we are focusing on complying with the existing measures. What are the benefits of introducing more measures, if they are not observed, Bulgaria’s Deputy Premier Tomislav Donchev said in an interview for Nova TV, commenting on the new anti-epidemic measures proposed by the health authorities.
Tomislav Donchev pointed out that Bulgaria is facing more difficult months ahead with regard to the coronavirus crisis and categorically rejected the allegations that the cabinet had underestimated the situation and that the necessary preparations had not been done during the summer months. 
“We are better prepared organizationally, but even the best organization sometimes shows flaws”, Deputy Premier Donchev said referring to reports in recent days of delayed admission of Covid-19 patients to hospitals.

Small hospitals in Bulgaria suffer serious shortage of staff

The number of people treated for Covid-19 in hospitals is increasing, but there is a lack of doctors to treat them. The shortage is particularly poignant in the smaller Bulgarian tows, where hospitals have applied for more medical staff and volunteers, the BNR reports.
Among the main reasons for the outflow of medical professionals are the low salaries, on average of around 400 euro a month. This is the reason why young doctors are not remaining to work in small towns, or in Bulgaria. This is the reason why more than two-thirds of all doctors are close to or over the retirement age.

Secondary school students submit petition against online learning

Students from the Secondary School of Mathematics in the town of Pazardzhik launched a petition against online learning. The petition enjoys huge support in the social networks, BNR’s correspondent Nevena Petrova reports. It will be sent to the Ministry of Education and Science within one week.
“Online learning does not benefit students”, the authors of the petition point out. They also claim the effect of distance learning is adverse. “The chance of catching the virus when we study online is much bigger, because when we go to school we are required to observe the anti-epidemic measures”, the students point out in their petition.

Compiled by Yoan Kolev