290 Bulgarian Interior Ministry staff tested positive for new coronavirus – report
A total of 290 employees of Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry have tested positive for new coronavirus to date, Bulgarian-language daily Sega said on August 22, citing the ministry’s response to its request for information.
Of the total, 44 are employed in the ministry’s administration.
A total of 241 have recovered and two have died. Forty-seven are currently undergoing medical treatment, according to the report.
In early August, the ministry said that it was cutting back the police presence at the continuing protests demanding the resignation of the government and the Prosecutor-General, saying that the move was made because of concerns that short-staffing because of new coronavirus infection would aggravate the burden on other police.
At the time, Radoslav Stoynev, head of the security police in Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia, called on people to wear protective masks outdoors, although this is not mandatory.
Only a minority of participants in the protests, which entered their 45th consecutive day on August 22, wear protective masks and physical distancing is practically non-existent. In turn, some police are seen wearing masks, and others not.
Bulgaria saw significant increases in active cases of Covid-19 and patients in hospital earlier in August, but recent days have seen a continuing downturn in these figures.
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