Covid-19 in Bulgaria – Roundup, April 14: Cases rise to 713
With 18 new cases of Covid-19 in Bulgaria confirmed on April 14, the total has reached 713, the national operational headquarters said on Tuesday evening.
To date, there have been 35 deaths of people who had tested positive for Covid-19. The average age of those who have died is 64.8 years, the operational HQ said.
A total of 209 patients are in hospital, 29 of them in intensive care.
Twenty-seven of those who have tested positive for Covid-19 are younger than 18. Of these, 14 are younger than 10.
With fresh and vegetable markets allowed to open for three days until Wednesday inclusive, Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandukova, Interior Minister Mladen Marinov and Sofia regional health inspectorate head Dr Dancho Penchev inspected compliance at the Krasno Selo market with anti-epidemic measures.
Marinov said that the goal was not to look for violations and issue fines. “On the contrary, that is something that we do unwillingly but have to do,” he said.
He said
that things were now properly organised, but it had taken many more
resources to achieve this, the police and municipal officials. This
was in contrast to this past Saturday, when non-compliance was
widespread, Marinov said.
“Our appeal again is to be
responsible and motivated so as not to waste the efforts we have
undertaken so far to curb the epidemic,” he said.
On April 14, the embassy of Israel donated 600 reusable protective masks and 5000 pairs of disposable gloves to the Sofia municipality’s directorate for social services and integration of people with disabilities.
The protective equipment will be allocated to social home and specialist institutions for the elderly, managed by Sofia municipality.
Personal protective equipment will also be provided to employees working on the frontline “in the field” such as staff at the crisis accommodation centre for the homeless in the Zaharna Fabrika district, to emergency assistance directorate staff who daily deliver food, other essentials and medicines to the socially-disadvantaged, as well as 140 social services staff who are assisting more than 1500 people every day.
The donation was presented by Israeli ambassador Yoram Elron to a team from the emergency services directorate.
Also on April 14, a delegation from the Bulgarian Orthodox Church presented 800 safety face shields to the Gendarmerie.
The presentation was made by a delegation led by Bishop Polycarp, vicar of the Metropolitan of Sofia, Patriarch Neofit. The consignment was accepted by Gendarmerie head Senior Commissioner Krasimir Dobrev, and immediately distributed to staff throughout the country, an Interior Ministry statement said.
Volen Siderov, leader of the pro-Russian Ataka party and a Sofia city councillor, has been given bail of 50 000 leva while facing criminal charges, one in connection with his calls to the public to defy anti-epidemic measures and go en masse to church for Easter, and another for obstructing a public official from carrying out his duty by serving a summons on Siderov to appear.
Further, on April 14, the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office initiated another pre-trial proceeding against Siderov for having, the day before, issued threats on television against the lives of a prosecutor and the investigating police officer dealing with the case.
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(Main photo: Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry press centre)
