62.8% of Bulgarians believe vaccination will bring life back to normal

At the backrop of ongoing pandemic and the constantly growing number of people infected with coronavirus in Bulgaria, 40.6% of Bulgarians accept vaccination as something imminent and inevitable for them, which can bring them back to normal life. This is shown by the data from a national survey by the sociological agency "Exacta Research Group" carried out in the period March 12-20, 2021. 6.7% of respondents indicate that they have already been vaccinated, and 15.5% have registered and are waiting to be vaccinated. 37.2% stated firmly that they would not be vaccinated. 62.8% of the respondents believe that their path to a future normal life goes through vaccination.

Bulgaria reports 24,4% positive cases, nearly 9,000 people in hospital

Bulgaria has registered 4,851 new cases of coronavirus for the last 24 hours. 24.4% of the 19,869 tests performed returned positive, according to the updated data on the National Coronavirus Information Portal at midnight. Most new cases are in Sofia - 1,352, followed by Burgas - with 496, Varna - with 369, and Plovdiv - with 358 newly infected. A total of 8,927 patients are currently treated in the hospital, which is for another consecutive day the largest number of hospitalized patients since the beginning of the Covid crisis in Bulgaria. 729 people are in intensive care units. 2,571 people were reported cured in the last 24 hours. 119 persons have died in the past day. The total number of deaths from coronavirus infection in Bulgaria has reached 12,307. A total of 12,436 people have been vaccinated in the last 24 hours. With them the total number of vaccinations has reached 388,805. The number of persons who received both doses is 78,390.

Pre-hospital pulmonologists call for additional remuneration

Specialists in lung diseases in Bulgaria from the pre-hospital care medical establishments demand to be recognized as medical professionals on the front line. They say that their work is very risky, as they examine dozens of patients with complications caused by the coronavirus infection every day. Pulmonologists from the pre-hospital care units insist that they be immediately equated in status with their colleagues from the hospitals and receive an additional remuneration of BGN 1,000 /EUR 500/, which is paid to front-line medical professionals in the fight against Covid-19. "There is a group of 50-60 pulmonologists in pre-hospital care who have carried the burden of these waves with many patients on their shoulders," the Society for Lung Diseases reported.

Government allocates further financial support to parents of children under 14

Bulgaria has allocated BGN 52 million (just over EUR 26 million) to support families with children under 14 years of age. The aid is for parents who are on unpaid leave to take care of their children after schools switched to online classes and kindergartens were closed for the new 10-day lockdown. This was what Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said at today's government meeting, quoted by the website coronavirus.bg. With the funds allocated today, the total amount under this measure reaches BGN 73 million /EUR 37 million/. More than 41,000 families were supported with the previous financial aid.

Additional funds under "Keep Me" program

The government has allocated more than 12 million euros of additional financing under the "Keep Me" measure, which provides compensation to workers in economic sectors closed because of the pandemic.

Pandemic has created new work model

Bulgarian businesses are planning to apply a hybrid model of work in the future, combining 2 days of work from home and 3 days in the office per week. This was stated by 79% of 250 Bulgarian companies from 13 different sectors that participated in a Leadership Support survey, quoted by 24 Chasa daily. The study, conducted at the end of 2020, refers to the organization of work during a pandemic. In 62% of the companies, the employees received a better work-life balance, nearly 80% of the organizations indicated that their productivity had increased, and 46% of the surveyed companies indicated that their employees' IT skills had improved.

Bulgaria in last position in utilization of funding under SURE instrument

Bulgaria is in last position in the utilization of financial resources under the European Commission’s temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE), an instrument designed to protect jobs and incomes affected by the pandemic, BNR’s Maria Kostova reports. Latest EC data show that this country has utilized 500 million euro, the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria says. By way of comparison, neighbouring Romania has utilized 4 billion euro. SURE provides financial support in the form of loans granted by the EU to member countries on favourable terms. Over 90 billion euro has so far been disbursed, which means that Bulgaria has availed itself of just 0.55% of the sum.

Editor: Yoan Kolev + News Team

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