Covid-19 in Bulgaria: Day 387 -

The peak of Covid-19 infections expected to be reached this or next week: Chief State Health Inspector

“Even though the number of coronavirus patients in hospital is higher than during the previous wave the hospital system is able to handle the influx,” Health Minister Kostadin Angelov declared at a working Council of Ministers meeting.

Chief State Health Inspector Angel Kunchev is expecting the peak of coronavirus infections to be reached this or next week.

More than 31,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine were delivered in Bulgaria today. The vaccination of the planned target groups from the national electronic register continues. The number of people who have been vaccinated is expected to reach half a million by the end of the week. There is little interest in the “green corridors” vaccination scheme, where inoculation is mostly with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Reporting by Tsvetelina Stoyanova, Horizont channel, BNR.

Covid-19 patients in Bulgarian hospitals near 10,000

The number of new coronavirus cases in Bulgaria for the past 24 hours has reached 983, Single Coronavirus Information Portal data show. More than 24% of the 4,094 tests performed returned positive result. Most of the new cases are in the city of Sofia - 318. Varna and Burgas follow with 91 and 89 newly infected people.

The number of active patients is 66,682. A total of 9,839 patients are in hospital. There are 773 patients in intensive care wards. 60 people with coronavirus infection passed away in the past day. The number of recoveries for the day reached 457.

2,383 vaccines have been administered for a day. The total number of administered vaccines in Bulgaria has reached over 436,000 as 88,214 people have already received a second dose.

Covid-19 vaccination certificate will be issued for free

The Supervisory Board of the National Health Insurance Fund has decided that the issuance of a vaccination certificate against Covid-19 will be free of charge. This was announced by Bulgaria's Minister of Health Kostadin Angelov on his Facebook page.

The printing of the certificate can be done by the vaccination centres and by the general practitioners, when the vaccinated person does not have an electronic signature.

Earlier today, Bulgaria's Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva requested that the health minister issued an order making Covid-19 vaccination certificates free of charge, the Ombudsman's press service announced. The request came in the wake of numerous complaints that health establishments have been demanding a fee to issue the document.

The practice is definitely a violation of the rights of citizens who do not have an electronic signature and are unable to download the document free of charge. They are entitled to request a certificate from their GP or the vaccination centre where the vaccine was administered. The whole Covid-19 vaccination process in the country is free of charge and does not depend on the health insurance status of the individual, Diana Kovacheva stated.

Third Covid-19 wave in Bulgaria causes more damage to patients' lungs

In the currently ongoing Covid-19 wave, the damage caused to the patients' lungs by the virus is much more severe. This was stated to BNR by Assoc. Prof. Marin Penkov, Head of the Imaging Department at the St. Ivan Rilski Hospital in Sofia.

It is not clear whether the reason for this is the fact that those infected with coronavirus seek medical help at a later stage of the disease, or the virus has become more aggressive and descends faster into the lungs.

Assoc. Prof. Marin Penkov urged people to seek medical help in a timely manner if necessary.

PM Borissov denies fake news of state of emergency and new restrictions in the country

Bulgaria expects 230,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine by the end of this week, and another 700,000 by the end of April. Sufficient quantities of Remdesivir have been provided. The health system has all medicines, sanitizers and oxygen it needs for the treatment of coronavirus patients – this was reported at a working meeting convened by PM Boyko Borissov.

“We have fulfilled our obligation and have ensured the financing necessary for coping with the coronavirus up until May. The next government and parliament will decide how to continue to finance the system from that time on,” Prime Minister Borissov said.

Boyko Borissov denied the fake news that a state of emergency and new restrictions will be imposed in the country, BTA reports.

Decline in number of Bulgarian travelers abroad and foreign guests

In February 2021, at the backdrop of continuing epidemic situation, the trips of Bulgarian citizens abroad were 215,300 or 46.3% less than those registered in February 2020, the National Statistical Institute has reported.

In February 2021 the visits of foreigners to Bulgaria were 240.900 or 52.6% less in comparison to February 2020. A drop was registered in the number of trips for all observed purposes: "rest and excursion" - 81.7%, "business trips" - 50.7 % and "others" - 21.7 percent. 40.7% of the foreigners who visited Bulgaria in February 2021 were EU citizens, or 56.4% less compared to the previous year. Visits of guests from the Czech Republic are an exception, as they marked a rise of 76.1 percent.

No extension of loan repayment moratorium expected

The moratorium on loan repayments will not be extended for a third time. The end of the health-care part of the problem can be seen on the horizon, banker Levon Hampartzoumian has told bTV.

"But as the medical issues disappears, economic problems continue," Hampartzoumian said. If a company had an unsustainable business, the outcome for it would not be good both in times of a pandemic and without one, the banker added. "People who owe money should communicate with the financial institution they took the loan from. Do not expect banks to start asking for money the day after the end of the loan repayment moratorium. But banks must be convinced that they would receive the money back," Hampartzoumian said. He added that a wave of non-performing loans was not expected.

Compiled by Gergana Mancheva and Radio Bulgaria's News Team

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