Operational HQ: Number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Bulgaria passes 600 mark
The total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Bulgaria as of the morning of April 9 is 611, with 18 new overnight, the national operational headquarters said.
The death toll is 24, unchanged from the evening of April 8.
Forty-eight people have recovered and have been discharged from hospital. The average age of those who have recovered is 47.
A total of 233 patients who tested positive for Covid-19 are in hospital, 27 of them in intensive care.
Bulgaria’s Chief State Health Inspector Associate Professor Angel Kunchev said that of 1016 police who underwent mass testing, 0.7 per cent so far had tested positive.
In other developments connected to Bulgaria’s Covid-19 situation on April 9, Labour and Social Policy Minister Denitsa Sacheva told Bulgarian National Television that a total of 1223 applications, covering 16 629 employees, had been submitted under the 60:40 scheme.
The 60:40 scheme was voted into place as a measure to counter an increase in unemployment by the state providing 60 per cent of payroll costs for companies in certain sectors, with employers required to pick up the remaining 40 per cent.
It is normal for applications to continue to grow as employers need time to prepare the documentation, Sacheva said.
It is expected that the first payments under the 60:40 measure to take place on April 16, following European Commission approval expected on April 14.
Education Minister Krassimir Vulchev issued an order on April 9 that the spring school holiday will be from April 17 to 20, which is shorter than usual.
April 17 to 20 is the four-day period when there will be public holidays because of the Eastern Orthodox Christian Easter – a period when schools would have been closed anyway.
School pupils in Bulgaria are at home, undergoing distance learning, as classrooms are shut under the State of Emergency regulations. The State of Emergency currently is due to continue until May 13.
(Image: vma.bg)
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