Bulgaria’s Crisis Staff March 9 evening update: No new cases of coronavirus
No new cases of Covid-19 new coronavirus in Bulgaria have been confirmed by laboratory tests, the national crisis staff said in an update at 9pm on March 9.
Bulgaria reported a total of four cases, two in Gabrovo and two in Pleven, on March 8.
The crisis staff said in the March 9 9pm update that 27 samples had been tested at the Military Medical Academy and at a laboratory in Stara Zagora.
Of samples from Dobrich, Rousse, Shoumen, Razgrad and Varna, all had proven negative.
The crisis staff said that the results of tests of samples from people who had been in contact with the patients in Gabrovo and Pleven were expected on March 10.
Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry has increased the level of risk of travel to Italy to level 3, which means a recommendation not to travel to specific areas, unless necessary, the statement said.
In social networks in Bulgaria, notwithstanding the official results conducted by qualified medical personnel using European-standard tests, disinformation continued to spread about supposed but unproven cases of new coronavirus in, among others, Razlog and Bansko.
The claims about Razlog and Bansko appeared to have been spread by unreliable media and have had a multiplier effect via ignorance and paranoia on social networks.
The origin of these unproven claims remained unclear, but they spread rapidly among the extremely gullible, or those susceptible to gossip or misinformation online.
Crisis staff chief Major-General Ventsislav Mutafchiyski said that the staff continued to be involved in conveying messages to the public about destinations risky in respect of Covid-19.
He noted that when there was more alarm, ahead of confirmed cases, 8000 people had travelled out of Bulgaria via Sofia Airport. Since the four cases had been confirmed, this number today had risen to 10 000.
Mutafchiyski called on the public to act responsibly and to avoid unnecessary travel to risky destintations. He said that the crisis staff also had called on members of the government and other agencies to avoid travel unless unavoidable.
