20 new cases of coronavirus infection detected

The total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection in Bulgaria is 1652, the National Headquarters has announced. 20 new cases have been proven during the day and 16 of the patients have been hospitalized. A 9-year-old child in Pleven was also infected. 17 of the newly infected people are in the region of Vidin, 15 of them are from a home for the elderly in Kula Municipality. The total number of infected medics is 177. Due to improper handling of personal protective equipment, 8 medics were infected in the infectious disease ward in Sliven. The total number of deaths of people with established Covid-19 is 78. The number of new deaths today is 4. The age of the deceased patients ranged between 82 to 55 years and all of them had concomitant diseases.

State of emergency in Bulgaria to be lifted on May 13

Headquarters fighting Covid-19 to hold press conference once a week

The National Headquarters is to start holding press conferences once a week at the Council of Ministers. The first will be on May 7 at 8 o'clock and the crisis staff will answer questions of media. The daily updates on the situation in this country and the world will continue to be presented every morning by Assoc. Prof. Dimo ​​Dimov, Secretary of the Staff. The decision to hold weekly press conferences has been made jointly by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and the National Operational Headquarters. The media will be able to receive real-time answers to the questions in person from the head and staff, the government also said.

Grigor Dimitrov at the forefront of European Commission’s fund-raising campaign

Bulgaria’s best tennis player Grigor Dimitrov is at the forefront of the European Commission’s campaign aimed at raising funds for medical treatment and inventing a vaccine against Covid-19, Commissioner Mariya Gabriel announced. “Let’s give out top scientists and entrepreneurs the tools and support to develop vaccine, treatment and diagnostics against the virus” Grigor Dimitrov said in a video message published in the YouTube channel of the EC. In the beginning of the crisis Bulgaria’s tennis player donated ventilators to the hospital in his native town of Haskovo.

61% of Bulgarian companies expect to survive the crisis

In a survey among 200 companies, industry organizations and regional chambers in Bulgaria, 40% of those surveyed say that additional business support measures are needed, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) reports. 25% of the surveyed companies think the measures are balanced against the backdrop of the capacity of the state budget and the size of the country's economy. About 20% believe the measures are excessive or classify them as a waste of resources, with no real effect on the economy. When asked about their forecasts for their businesses until the end of the year, a majority of 61% of the surveyed companies say they expect to survive but will not reach their pre-pandemic levels. 14% believe they will reach their pre-crisis levels. Only 4% say the crisis creates market opportunities and predict better results than before.

Demand for work force would restore at end of 2020

The loosening of the measures against the spread of Covid-19 in Bulgaria will not directly affect employment levels. Unemployment will continue to rise for at least another 2 months, officials from the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) predict. Hiring new personnel can only be expected to happen at the end of 2020. BIA President Radosvet Radev is not optimistic about the country's economic recovery because of the many conditions to businesses, the need for significant investment and the expected shrinkage in consumption. Probably, the economic recovery will begin in the autumn, Radosvet Radev predicts. In the summer, most businesses, including our Western partners, are in an August vacation mode and almost do not operate. My feeling is that companies will start recruiting new workers in the 4th quarter of the year, Radev believes.

Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry continues to advise against traveling abroad

Over 2,000 Bulgarians have been transported back to Bulgaria from other countries since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis. The exact number of those brought back home with the assistance of the foreign ministry is difficult to specify because of the different modes of transportation, Ivan Dimov, adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva, told the Bulgarian National Radio.The recommendation to abstain from travelling remains in place unless absolutely necessary. In order to use a humanitarian flight, it is necessary for Bulgarian citizens to contact the relevant Bulgarian diplomatic mission around the world. It is also important that there is a sufficient number of Bulgarian nationals willing to return home from the respective destination, Dimov added.

Coalition partners in Bulgarian cabinet propose measures to save Bulgaria's tourist sector

The VMRO political party, a coalition partner in the cabinet of GERB, have proposed a package of two-year state support measures for the tourist sector in light of the crisis caused by Covid-19. VMRO calls for subsidizing tourist charter flights from abroad by over 6,000 euros per flight. They insist on reducing VAT in the sector by up to 5% and easing the regime for issuing 30-day tourist visas for foreigners. VMRO also proposes a VAT reduction for restaurant and catering services. The other coalition partner, the National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria, proposes extending the construction time along the Black Sea coast by 1 month until June 15 due to the delayed summer season.

Bulgarian businesses expect to recover from the crisis within a year

79% of Bulgarian companies have incurred  losses as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, a study by Alpha Research indicates. 7% of companies have suffered limited loss of profits. 15 percent declare losses worth 100% percent. 21% felt no difficulties. 3.5% report increased demand for their products. 22.6% mainly medium-sized and large enterprises have retained the organization of their operation. 20% of businesses have switched entirely to remote work. Three quarters of businesses have cut staff as 9% have laid off all employees. 59% of entrepreneurs support state aid for jobs preservation known as the  60/40 scheme. 70% of companies hope that within 1 year they will completely restore their operation.

Compiled by: D. Grigorova and News Team

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