Several Bulgarian government officials, including Health Minister, in quarantine after PM tests positive for Covid-19
Everyone who was in contact with Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boiko Borissov in recent days will be quarantined, the regional health inspectorate in Sofia said on October 25 after Borissov announced on Facebook that he had tested positive for Covid-19.
Reports listed those who had been in contact with Borissov, whose positive test came out after he had tested negative over two previous consecutive days, as including Health Minister Kostadin Angelov, Chief State Health Inspector Angel Kunchev, Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, Transport Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov, Deputy Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev, the head of the Cabinet’s political staff Denitsa Zheleva and GERB party official Sevdalina Arnaudova.
Before the announcement by the Sofia regional health inspectorate, Angelov and Georgiev both posted on Facebook that they were self-isolating.
Bulgarian National Radio said that it was certain that those who had been in contact with Borissov on Wednesday, when the Cabinet held its regular weekly meeting, included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva, Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev and Finance Minister Kiril Ananiev.
BNR said that this was evident from visual material distributed by the government information service after the October 22 Cabinet meeting.
Borissov said that he had informed the United States embassy about his condition.
On October 23, Bulgarian and US officials, including US under secretary of state Keith Krach, were present at a ceremony at which bilateral agreements on 5G network security and civilian nuclear energy were signed. Those present at the ceremony included US ambassador Bulgaria Herro Mustafa.
The government media service said on October 25 that Borissov was continuing to carry out his duties and it was not necessary to designate a deputy prime minister to stand in for him.
(Main photo, from left: Transport Minister Zhelyazkov, Borissov, US ambassador Mustafa, Keith Krach, Energy Minister Petkova and Deputy Foreign Minister Georgiev. Photo: government.bg)
The Sofia Globe’s coverage of the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland.
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