Number of new Covid-19 cases expected to decrease in a week

Adopting extreme measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus infection is not the answer to the problem, said Bulgaria’s Chief State Health Inspector Dr. Angel Kunchev. According to him, the easing of anti-epidemic measures on April 1 will be a breath of fresh air. The easing of anti-epidemic measures is in accordance with the medical indicators. People get tired when the measures continue for more than two weeks, Professor Todor Kantardzhiev, member of the National Operational Headaquarters and Director of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, told bTV. Covid-19 cases have plateaued in Bulgaria and the number of new infections is expected to decrease within a week, Professor Kantardzhiev added.

Bulgaria reports record high number of new Covid-19 cases

5,176 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Bulgaria over the past 24 hours out of 20,455 tests performed, data of the Single Coronavirus Information Portal show. 25.3% of the tests have returned positive result. The highest number of new infections was reported in Sofia-1,321, followed by Varna district-463 and Plovdiv district-425. There are 69,666 active cases of Covid-19 and 9,811 patients in hospital, as 748 of them are in intensive care. 155 patients have died in the past 24 hours, bringing the Covid-19 death toll to 13,068 since the beginning of the pandemic. 3,219 people have recovered in the past 24 hours. 13,183 vaccines have been administered in Bulgaria in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of inoculations against Covid-19 to 458,731. A total of 93,081 people have already received their second vaccine dose.

Just 5.1% of Bulgarians over 80 have received first vaccine dose

In Bulgaria, citizens over the age of 80 do not have priority for vaccination. Just 5.1% of the Bulgarian population over the age of 80 have received a first dose of vaccine and only 0.7% of Bulgarians in this age group are fully immunized. This is shown by data published by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. In the EU, Malta is on the other side of the chart with 95.3% of citizens over the age of 80, who have already received their first vaccine.

Bulgaria is among EU Member States expecting additional vaccines

Bulgaria is among the five EU Member States that may receive 2.86 million "solidarity vaccines" from Pfizer and BioNTech. The proposal was made by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, "Politico" reports. The vaccines are part of the 10 million doses that will be redistributed in the European Union by the end of June. The vaccination campaign can now continue actively, as we have more than 200,000 vaccine doses. 151,000 vaccines arrived in Bulgaria on March 31, Premier Boyko Borissov said. Bulgaria will receive 134,825 rapid antigen test kits under an agreement with the European Commission, the government's press service reported.

Big non-food stores unhappy with continuing closure after April 1

Closing big non-food stores increases the risk of the spread of Covid-19, reads a position by the Association for Modern Trade. When big stores are not working customers go to smaller shops where health requirements are difficult to comply with. Leading companies have proved that they are able to ensure distancing and disinfection, control access and comply with all anti-epidemic measures. The continuing closure of big stores is having dire economic consequences for traders but also for the entire system of retail businesses and could lead to bankruptcies and an increase in unemployment.

Bulgarian banking system remains very liquid

Loans totaling 4.2 billion euros were rescheduled because of the Covid-19 crisis at the end of February, BNR reporter Marta Mladenova informed. The number of rescheduled loans as of March 31 will be clear in a month. The end of March is the deadline for approval of deferral requests over the pandemic. The profit of banks for the first two months of 2021 reached 86 million euros, which is a rise of more than 9% compared to the same period of the past year. The banking system remains very liquid, it was reported. Growth in both loans and deposits has been observed.

Tourist industry wants free beach umbrellas and chaise lounges

Beach umbrellas and chaise lounges free of charge for at least the next three years to help tourism, the industry hit hardest by the coronavirus - this is what the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association has called for. They are proposing that the government remit concession fees for beach concessionaires. Revenues from umbrella and chaise lounge fees amount to 4 million euro a year, or 0.1% of the entire tourist sector, but the high cost of the service is jeopardizing revenues amounting to 4 billion euro. “Guests at the resorts are not happy with the high prices of beach services. This is bad for the impression tourists are left with after holidaying here, after which they choose other destinations,” the organization says.

Editor: Yoan Kolev + News Team

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