Covid-19: Bulgaria’s Health Minister bans exports of quinine-based medicines
Bulgaria’s Minister of Health Kiril Ananiev has issued an order banning exports of quinine-based medicines until further notice, the Health Ministry said on March 20.
The aim is to meet the needs of the Bulgarian market in connection with the Covid-19 global pandemic declared by the World Health Organization and the situation in Bulgaria, the ministry said on its website.
This was among developments on the morning of March 20 related to the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria. The national crisis staff told an 8am briefing that there were currently 112 confirmed cases in the country.
The Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that it had initiated an investigation, responding to media reports, into large groups of Bulgarian citizens returning from at-risk countries and failing to go into compulsory quarantine.
The office has asked Sofia municipality to provide a written report on steps to prevent the gathering of multiple people in one place, as well as on the measures for the disinfection of neighbourhoods “inhabited by homogeneous groups of citizens of Roma ethnic origin in the territory of Sofia – Fakulteta, Filipovtsi, Hristo Botev, Dimitar Milenkov, Orlandovtsi, etc”.
“A request was made regarding the instructions regarding the placement of thermal cameras and the provision of protective masks, goggles and protective clothing when necessary, as well as the availability of mediator groups to explain to citizens of this ethnic group the high level of public danger of coronavirus infection,” the statement said.
Bansko municipality is delivering protective masks to some grocery stores. The masks, being handed out for free, are intended for residents who have not been able to obtain them, a notice on the municipality’s website said. Bansko currently is under a two-week quarantine following the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the resort town. The face masks are reusable. They should be washed after two hours of use and then ironed with a hot iron, the municipality said. Quantities were limited, it said.
Bulgaria’s National Assembly held a hearing behind closed doors of the head of the State Reserve and Wartime Stocks State Agency, Stanimir Peev. MPs voted to hold the hearing following a proposal by Prime Minister Boiko Borissov’s GERB party. Parliament rejected a proposal by the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party to call on Borissov to address the House on the status of the State Reserve.
For the rest of The Sofia Globe’s continuing coverage of the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria, please click here.
