Third wave of Covid-19 expected to hit Bulgaria in end of February

The third Covid-19 wave could hit Bulgaria within three weeks with an exceedingly high infection rate, General Ventsislav Mutafchiyski, head of the National Coronavirus Headquarters warned. However, currently the number of daily recoveries continue to be double the number of new infections. There will be a gradual increase in the number of coronavirus infections in February – whether it will be slow or whether the numbers will soar and hospitals will start to overflow will depend on how the restrictions are observed, said Chief State Health Inspector Assoc. Prof. Angel Kunchev. On his part, General Ventsislav Mutafchiyski reiterated that during the previous wave the peak was reached in the space of seven weeks, whereas now we are starting out from much higher levels (113 infections per 100,000). He called for two things – that hospital directors prepare for a surge in the number of patients, and that the public realize that if something was permitted that does not mean it was safe.

8 Bulgarian regions back in coronavirus red zone

Eight regions of the country are back in the coronavirus red zone, the health authorities announced at their regular weekly briefing. Still, the number of daily recoveries continue to be double the number of new infections. Bulgaria is 26th in the EU in the number of infections on a 14-day basis with 90 cases per 100,000, and 13th in fatalities with 9.9 per 100,000 people. The state has enough medicines and protective equipment to meet the expected increase in morbidity, the Minister of Health said. He added that there was an idea that students should also be tested with antigen tests, but parental approval was needed. More from the briefing can be found - HERE.

Foreigners with long-term residence vaccinated according to national plan

Foreign citizens who hold permanent residence have the same rights as Bulgarian citizens to be vaccinated in accordance with the relevant phase of the national vaccination plan. If they are medical workers they have probably already been vaccinated and the rest will be able to obtain a vaccine with their GPs. Regarding the vaccination of the remaining foreign citizens on the territory of this country, this issue will be considered once vaccines have been provided to all Bulgarian citizens and there are additional quantities. 94,920 doses of both kinds of vaccine have been delivered in Bulgaria so far and 50,124 doses have already been administered.

Risk of students returning to remote education remains

The risk of students needing to return home again remained if figures showed morbidity rate of 200 per 100,000 people. February and March are risky months, but education is worth taking a measured risk. If the situation worsens, measures will be tightened again, Bulgarian Minister of Education Krassimir Valchev said during a visit to the Henry Ford Vocational School of Transport and Energy in Sofia. The motivation of students to study in an electronic environment has been weakening, Minister Valchev also said. The beginning of the school year is fixed by law and the Minister pointed out that he did not intend to propose changes for an earlier start of the school year, BGNES reported.

Bulgaria reports decreasing number of active Covid-19 cases

Bulgaria has registered 719 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours after 9,876 tests. The positive samples are 7.3%, according to the National Coronavirus Information Portal. The highest number of new cases has been recorded in Sofia - 170, followed by Burgas with 77, Plovdiv with 66, Kyustendil - 43, Varna – 37. The trend of a decreasing number of active cases continues, as they are currently 20,496. There are currently 2,969 patients in hospital, 284 are in intensive care wards. 1,068 people have recovered for a day. 40 people lost the battle with the disease during the day. 4,207 people have been vaccinated for the past 24 hours. The total number of vaccines administered in Bulgaria has reached 50,124.

Third wave could make elections unpredictable

A third wave of the pandemic could put us in an unpredictable scenario when it comes to the parliamentary elections, Bulgarian mathematician Lachezar Tomov, a lecturer in Informatics at the New Bulgarian University, said in an interview with BNR's Horizon program. The elections date has been set for April 4 by Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. The current measures will not be enough for the new strains of the coronavirus, which are freely spread in all age groups, says the mathematician. Each infected person infects more than 1 person. There is a lack of discipline, people do not trust the institutions, which affects the vaccinations, Lachezar Tomov added. According to the mathematician, Covid-19 can disappear with systematic vaccination in the course of several years.

BNR informs Czech tourists in Bulgaria about Czech Republic’s new coronavirus requirements

There are many Czech tourists in the winter resorts in Bulgaria. One of them is Pavel Novak, a journalist from the Czech National Radio who is in this country to give coverage to the safety measures at Bulgaria’s winter resorts. According to Pavel Novak many of his fellow countrymen on holiday in Bulgaria are not informed of the new requirements of the health authorities in the Czech Republic. That is why he called on Czech citizens in this country via the news on the Bulgarian National Radio: “As of midnight on 5 February arrivals from Bulgaria need to fill out and sent an electronic Public Health Passenger Locator Form in advance, as well as to present a PCR or antigen test, performed no later than 24 hours prior to arrival.”

Rose production in Bulgaria facing critical year

The pandemic has hit the perfume industry, and hence the rose oil business. In 2020, 40% of the rose crop remained unpicked. This year the situation is critical. “We are on the verge of a zero year in rose production. A great many of the distilleries in the country say they do not intend to have a crop purchase campaign at all this spring. They do not have the financial resource to purchase and process rose flowers, and do not need to because they have obsolete stock which they are unable to market,” Hristo Nikolov, chair of the Professional Association of Rose Producers in Bulgaria commented for BNR-Stara Zagora. That is why they are calling for convening a consultative council on the oil-yielding rose.

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Compiled by: Diana Tsankova + News Team

Translation: Radio Bulgaria English Language Team