The planned closure of fitness centers, shopping malls and restaurants will not lead to a decrease in the number of coronavirus infections, Emil Kolarov from the Association of Restaurants in Bulgaria and Ventsislav Nikolov from the Bulgarian Retail Association said for Bulgaria ON AIR. In their view, the new closure of these sectors would be a disaster.

Businesses are worried that the anti-epidemic measures will not last only two weeks, as announced by the authorities. They are also worried that they may not receive state compensation, because the lockdown is imposed at a local level by orders of the regional health inspectorates, not by order of this country’s Minister of Health. The Association of Restaurants in Bulgaria does not rule out the possibility to launch protests against the new anti-epidemic measures.