No zero academic year envisaged: Education minister

“There will not be a zero academic year over the coronavirus epidemic,” said Minister of Education Krasimir Valchev for bTV. In his words extending the school year into summer will be one of the last resorts. If it comes to extending the second term, it will be valid for younger schoolchildren for June, and not for secondary school students who have classes a month longer – there is no way to extend their term into July because of the hot weather. 
40% of all pupils are currently studying remotely, 630 students and 1,534 teachers have coronavirus.  Minister Valchev stated that the discussion whether pupils should wear masks in class continues.

It is not clear how many children are taking part in online learning: Ombudsman

“It is not clear how many pupils nationwide are unable to take part in online learning,” said national Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva for BNT. In her words access to the Internet and to digital devices outside the capital city, as well as among vulnerable social groups is limited. 
“This deprives children of the opportunity to gain an education, that is why the state must solve this problem as soon as possible,” Diana Kovacheva said, and added that valuable time had been wasted during the summer which could have been used to analyse the problems of online learning.

Bulgaria reports 4,212 Covid-19 cases, 85 deaths and 682 recoveries

4,212 is the number of newly confirmed coronavirus cases out of 12,413 PCR tests performed over the past 24 hours in Bulgaria, Single Coronavirus Information Portal data show. This means that 34% of the tests performed have returned positive. The highest number of new infections is in Sofia – 1,231 cases, Varna - 429 and Plovdiv- 320. 
85 have died, 682 have recovered, and 4,949 patients with coronavirus are being treated in hospital, 288 of them in intensive care. 139 is the number of newly registered infections among medical staff bringing the number of  Covid-19 cases among medical workers since the start of the pandemic up to 3,785.

Medicines shortage can be compensated for by generic medicines: Prof. Asena Serbezova

Prof. Asena Serbezova, chair of the Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union formulated three hypotheses why there is a shortage of medicines in pharmacies: 
“Some wholesalers are exporting medicines because they have an interest in the price difference; lack of a system monitoring availability in the pharmacy network; increased consumption due to the coronavirus epidemic,” she said in an interview for BNT. 
In her words pharmacists continue to demand the right to generic substitution (editorial note: substitution of a prescribed branded drug by a different form of the same active substance), so as to compensate for their shortage in pharmacies. In Prof. Serbezova’s words there is no system in this country for monitoring the quantities of medicines sold or prescribed by doctors.

BSP leader Kornelia Ninova demands opening of state reserve over medicines shortage

Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Kornelia Ninova has demanded, on Facebook, that the state reserve be opened to release the necessary amounts of medicines which are not to be found in the pharmacy network. In her words this will give every member of the public access to the medicine they need, will prevent panic and panic buying, as well as possible price hikes. She did not rule out the appearance of speculation due to the medicines shortage.

Government does not have a plan for coping with the crisis: Dr. Stoycho Katsarov

“The measures for containing the coronavirus epidemic are chaotic and the lack of any organization is there to be seen,” Dr. Stoycho Katsarov from the Centre for Protection of Rights in Healthcare commented for BNR-Varna. In his words the government doesn’t have a plan for coping with the infection.“The impression is that everyone is left to fend for themselves in this situation,” he said. 
In Dr. Katsarov’s words the government wasted the summer months instead of taking measures, including legislative measures. He cited as an example the medical establishments act which does not allow the opening of additional beds for the treatment of coronavirus patients.

Prototype of the Bulgarian coronavirus vaccine will be ready by end of year: Microbiology Institute director

“The prototype of the Bulgarian coronavirus vaccine will be ready by the end of the year,” said Prof. Penka Petrova, director of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Microbiology for bTV. 
“The viral proteins it will be targeted at have been selected, and once the prototype is ready testing will begin on mice and on humans to see how immunogenic and safe the vaccine is,” Prof. Petrova said and added that Bulgaria will take part in the agreements on seven vaccines in advanced phase.  “The 13 million vaccines quota is too big for the country,” she said.

Information system shows availability of hospital beds for Covid-19 patients

27-year of Plamen Zhekov has developed an information system which shows, in real time, the available hospital beds for Covid-19 patients and which hospital they are in, BNR-Burgas reports. The programmer from Burgas donated the code to the municipality and the health inspectorate in the city. His system has the potential to develop into a national platform thanks to which ambulances will no longer have to drive from hospital to hospital in search of available beds. The information system, created free of charge, is already in use in Burgas.

189,000 people find jobs since start of pandemic

189,000 people have found a job since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy data show. After the first version of the 60/40 employment aid scheme in the March-June period, more than 9,000 employers were assisted and 180,000 jobs saved, for which 186 million Leva was paid out. With the second version of the measure, 334 million Leva was paid out to 5,000 employers for 140,000 jobs. 
Under the “Employment for you” scheme 4,000 employers declared they would create 16,000 jobs, subsidized by the state with European funding.

Compiled by Diana Tsankova 

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