Vaccination Plan to be changed because of elections

February 5 is the deadline for district governors to hold consultations on the composition of the District Election Commissions for the parliamentary elections on April 4. The Central Election Commission - CEC must appoint the district commissions not later than February 12, BTA has reported. The vaccination plan will be amended and all participants in the election process will be included in the third phase of the process. These are the members of the sectional election commissions, the district commissions and the CEC, Health Minister Kostadin Angelov said during a government meeting. Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev pointed out the ambition for the entire election administration of 80,000 people to be vaccinated voluntarily.

Mass cancellation of reservations in Bansko

Hoteliers from the ski resort have alarmed about the problem. The main reason is the requirement for a negative PCR test of foreigners entering this country, which came into force tonight. The industry insists that tourists with a vaccination certificate should not be subject to testing. Meanwhile, border authorities have also reported that traffic of cars entering this country at the border checkpoint with Greece has declined drastically. We recall that by order of the Minister of Health, from January 29 to April 30, 2021, all persons entering Bulgaria must present a negative PCR test result for Covid-19, performed not more than 72 hours before arrival. Exceptions are allowed for drivers of international buses, drivers of transit trucks, crews of vessels and aircraft. Bulgarian citizens and persons with the status of permanent, or long-term residence on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and their family members who do not present a PCR test document shall be quarantined for a period of 10 days at home or in another place of accommodation, indicated by the person.

Flow of passengers on "Danube Bridge" does not stop despite PCR test requirement

Most of the travelers today were tourists who chose the Bulgarian ski resorts for their winter vacation. "Everyone who enters the territory of Bulgaria - a Bulgarian citizen or a foreigner, must present a PCR test result. Bulgarian citizens who do not have a PCR test must be placed under a 10-day quarantine. Foreigners without a PCR test cannot enter Bulgaria "Preslava Zhekova, senior inspector in the" Anti-epidemic control" department of the Ruse health inspectorate said.

Prime Minister gives more details on reopening of restaurants

Catering establishments would be reopened if the number of patients did not rise much after the easing of other measures in February. This is what Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said at a working meeting at the Council of Ministers. PM Borissov reiterated that Bulgaria has the best indicators in terms of Covid-19 morbidity, BGNES reported. "This is because of this masterful management of the crisis, and now, if we are pressured to open everything, we may find ourselves in a difficult situation. If the number of infected did not rise, we would think about opening the restaurants.” the Prime Minister added.

OECD: Pandemic has interrupted the impressive progress of Bulgarian economy

The Covid-19 outbreak abruptly stopped several years of robust economic growth in Bulgaria, reads the second economic survey of Bulgaria of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), BNR reported. The survey was presented today in an online meeting with the participation of Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and the OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria. The document reveals that there is rising inequality and persistently high poverty in the country, with a widening gap between poor and rich people in Bulgaria. The need for a better business environment and clearer administrative regulations is pointed out. Efforts to fight corruption and crime must continue, the survey reads. The issue of minorities is also being addressed in the document, saying that 1/10 of Bulgaria's population is of Roma origin, but lives in socially excluded neighborhoods. The need for reforms in education is also emphasized. The OECD expects that Bulgarian economy will grow by 3.3% in 2021, unemployment will remain above 6%, inflation will amount to 1.4%. A budget deficit of 4.5% of GDP is forecasted. There is still no consensus on Bulgaria's application for membership in the organization, Gurria said.

Bulgaria reports 560 new cases of Covid-19 in past dayA total of 560 cases of coronavirus have been registered out of 12,297 tests performed for the past day in Bulgaria, data from the Unified Information Portal show. 4.6% of the samples returned positive result. During the same period, 29 people with coronavirus infection died and 1,303 recovered. The active cases of coronavirus infection in the country are 25,676. The number of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 is 2,877, including 257 patients in intensive care wards. The confirmed cases of coronavirus in Bulgaria since the beginning of the pandemic have reached 217,574 with a population (according to NSI data) of just under 7 million. 4,719 people were vaccinated in the past day.

Editor: Gergana Mancheva + News Team

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