Travel negotiations with Romania, Greece and Serbia to start on Monday

As of Monday, 18 May, Bulgaria is starting negotiations with Romania, Greece and Serbia on the conditions under which travelling and crossing border check points will be organized, Minister of Transport Rosen Zhelyazkov announced. The talks will take place at the level of prime ministers. Minister Zhelyazkov commented for the BNR that airlines operating charter flights for tourists have been hit hardest by the crisis. That is why a subsidy is envisaged for every occupied seat on Bulgarian charter planes with a capacity of over 100 seats.

Baby food kitchens in Sofia and shopping malls to reopen as of 18 May

All of the 75 baby food kitchens in Sofia are to open on 18 May, Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova announced.  “All premises where the food is prepared have been disinfected following all health and sanitary requirements. The kitchen staff has been tested for Covid-19,” Mayor Fandakova said. Malls in Sofia are disinfecting the premises and getting ready to reopen on 18 May. Indoor food and drink establishments, as well as children’s and entertainment centres inside shopping malls will not be opening.

Number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Bulgaria reaches 2,211

36 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Bulgaria over the past 24 hours. 15 of them have been hospitalized. The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases is 2,211. 6% of all Covid-19 patients are children. 240 medical workers have been infected or 11% of all coronavirus cases. 25 is the number of recoveries over the past 24 hours, bringing the number of patients who have recovered from coronavirus up to 598 or 26% of all cases. The Covid-19 death toll is now 108, with 3 new deaths over the past 24 hours.

Measures against Covid-19 in Bulgaria are effective

“The experience gained shows that even in mild Covid-19 cases the patient continues to emit the virus for a long time. In Bulgaria quarantine is only lifted if the patients are not emitting the virus,” said Prof. Todor Kantardzhiev, director of the National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, member of the National Crisis Headquarters. He added he was pleased that there were no new cases in old people’s homes and care homes for children with mental disabilities. In Prof. Kantardzhiev’s words the epidemic expands when one coronavirus patient infects three other people. With ordinary flu one patient infects two other people. At the moment one Covid-19 patient is infecting between 0.8 and 1.2 people in Bulgaria. At the beginning the ratio was 1 to 1.7. There is success regarding one other index as well – the time it takes for the number of coronavirus cases to double. Whereas at the beginning this period was 10 days, now it is more than one month. There can be only be one conclusion – the restrictive measures are working, Prof. Kantardzhiev said.

Q fever outbreak in the region of Gabrovo

“During testing for Covid-19 a Q fever outbreak was localized in three villages in the region of Gabrovo,” Prof. Todor Kantardzhiev, director of the National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases announced. The symptoms of the disease, also called “Balkan flu”, are similar to those of coronavirus – fever, respiratory problems and coughing. More than 20 people have contracted Q fever – veterinary doctors and staff at three sheep and cow farms. None of them has been hospitalized. The disease is transmitted from animals to humans and is usually endemic and seasonal. When diagnosed early, Q fever is treated successfully. After recovery the organism acquired long-lasting immunity.

There is no evidence ticks can transmit Covid-19

In the conditions of  the emergency epidemic situation parks were opened to the public and processed for ticks. “Nevertheless the risk remains and increases greatly in areas where there is unmown grass,” said Tsezarina Ilieva, head of the Parasitology department of the Sofia health inspectorate. “There is no evidence of blood-sucking insects transmitting Covid-19. This is highly unlikely in view of the structure of the coronavirus,” Ilieva explained.”  In our region ticks transmit Lyme disease, Boutonneuse fever and Q-fever, that is why she urges the public to regularly check over high-risk parts of their body after taking walks or spending time in grassy spaces.

Doling out money gives rise to corruption: Ex-PM Ivan Kostov

“Doling out money gratuitously to people in need is impossible because the resources are limited. If this is done the government would come out of the crisis with a huge deficit,” Ivan Kostov, Prime Minister of Bulgaria in the 1997-2001 period said for the Bulgarian National Radio. “According to the EU, the country’s GDP is going to go down by 7.2%. That means EUR 4.2 billion. There is no way the government can find the billions needed to compensate for all incomes. Calls for such a thing are populist. Even if it does find the money from somewhere, it couldn’t be absorbed and will only give rise to corruption,” Ivan Kostov said. He added that Bulgaria is not the only country where measures to address the damages are taken under pressure and urged for taxes not to be changed mid-year.  

Investors and company owners want 14-day quarantine along border with Greece dropped

Investors and proprietors of companies from the border regions of Bulgaria and Greece are unable to run their companies because of the requirement for a 14-day quarantine upon entry into the two countries from the EU. They sent a letter to the government and the National Crisis Headquarters seeking a reassessment of the epidemiological situation and the immediate lifting of the restriction. As opposed to the dropping of the requirement for a 14-day quarantine for workers and international drivers, company owners from Bulgaria and Greece cannot cross the border under the same conditions. This is a serious obstacle to the restarting of their businesses and to bringing thousands of people back to work, the company owners say. 

Compiled by: Ivo Ivanov

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