Covid-19 in Bulgaria: Another new record rise in cases, seven new deaths
The number of people in Bulgaria who have tested positive for new coronavirus in the past 24 hours is 182, the highest increase in a single day so far, according to data posted on July 4 by the national information system.
The number who tested positive was out of 2538 PCR tests in the past 24 hours. To date, a total of 150 062 PCR tests have been done in Bulgaria.
Of the number of newly-confirmed cases, the largest number, 69, is in the city of Sofia, followed by 22 in the district of Plovdiv.
By district – based on the current address of those who tested positive – the other cases are four in Blagoevgrad, one in Bourgas, 11 in Varna, 10 in Veliko Turnovo, one in Vidin, four in Vratsa, one in Gabrovo, three in Kurdzhali, eight in Kyustendil, seven in Pazardzhik, four in Pleven, two in Razgrad, eight in Sliven, seven in Smolyan, 11 in the district of Sofia, four in Stara Zagora, four in Turgovishte and one in Yambol.
To date, 5497 cases of Covid-19 in Bulgaria have been confirmed. Of these, 2366 are active, an increase of 85 in the past day.
A total of 2892 people have recovered, an increase of 90 in the past 24 hours.
There are 450 patients in hospital, an increase of seven. Twenty-nine are in intensive care.
A total of 445 medical personnel have tested positive to date, with 21 new cases in the past 24 hours.
The death toll has risen by seven to 239.
Those who died were a 52-year-old man with no other illnesses, a 55-year-old woman who had pneumonia and no concomitant diseases, a 59-year-old woman who had asthma, a 21-year-old man with severe kidney disease, a 70-year-old woman with diabetes and other concomitant diseases, a 49-year-old man with heart disease and a 48-year-old woman with heart disease and cancer.
In a Facebook post, the National Association of Emergency Medical Workers said that Sofia emergency medic Dr Yulian Stamov, 42, had died on July 3.
He had been admitted for treatment a week earlier with shortness of breath and fever and had tested positive for Covid-19. He had been intubated on July 1. It is believed he became infected while carrying out a risky procedure involving cardiac massage and respiration. “He died within a week after neglecting his own safety for the sake of his patient’s life,” the association said.
He was the second victim from the Emergency Medical Centre in Sofia, after Dr Neli Pandova died in May after testing positive.
On July 4, speaking to Bulgarian National Television, the leader of the team that provides mathematical calculations to the national operational headquarters said that Bulgaria was in the second peak of the first wave of new coronavirus.
Professor
Nikolai Vitanov said that in the autumn, it was expected that there
would be 10 000 confirmed cases of new coronavirus in Bulgaria.
“I
have been saying for some time that we will reach a five-digit number
in the autumn. We are talking about the number of registered cases,
and the total number of cases, which is higher, will become
six-digit,” he said.
If the number of infected per day reaches 300, Bulgaria’s health system will be overloaded.
Vitanov said that the health system still has the capacity to take care of the sick, but it is not clear for how long. Beds will always be found, but the problem is whether there will be sufficient specialists to treat the ill.
For the rest of The Sofia Globe’s continuing coverage of the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria, please click here.
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