Bulgarian PM: Banks, supermarkets, pharmacies in malls remain open
Banks, supermarkets and pharmacies in shopping malls will remain open, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said at a meeting of the Cabinet and the crisis staff against Covid-19 new coronavirus on the evening of March 13.
This was Borissov’s comment following an order issued on the afternoon by Health Minister Kiril Ananiev on the measures being put in place under the State of Emergency, to last until April 13, to combat the spread of Covid-19. Full details of Ananiev’s order are available, in English, here.
Borissov said that the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Bulgaria now numbered 30. This is seven higher than the number announced the night before. One patient has died.
Fuel stations will remain open.
Earlier, in an official statement, the Association of Bulgarian Banks said in an official statement that all banks in the country would remain open to the public. Those who did not want to go to a bank branch should use online banking, the association said.
Borissov said that he had held talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about the difficulties in exports and imports because of the fact that several EU countries had closed their borders as a step against new coronavirus.
The Bulgarian Prime Minister said that while restaurants would be closed, food takeaway delivery services would remain in operation, to ease clusters of people in food shops.
Bulgaria’s agricultural industry was in strong condition and there was no need for the public to go out and buy “40 to 50 bottles of cooking oil”. There were food supplies in stock to last two years, Borissov said.
He said that the Ministry of Education would offer opportunities for distance learning. From next Tuesday, two of the channels of the public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television, BNT2 and BNT4, would be used for this purpose.
Measures were also envisaged to deal with speculation in prices, Borissov said.
