Covid-19: Bulgaria’s capital Sofia issues guidelines for those who test positive
The regional health inspectorate in Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia published on November 13 the guidelines it was advising people to follow in case of a positive PCR test result.
The person in question is to immediately self-quarantine at home for 14 days. First-line contacts – those who spent more than 15 minutes at a distance of less than two metres without a mask, either in the two days before the first symptoms or in the two days before the PCR test in case of asymptomatic carriers – of the person in question are required to self-quarantine for 10 days.
During that time, the quarantined person should extensively air their home, disinfect surfaces in their home and first necessity items, as well as their personal protection equipment.
No follow-up test after the quarantine expires is needed, according to the guidelines.
During the quarantine period, the medical supervision is carried out by the general practitioner doctor, who is to provide assistance to everyone on their patient list. The general practitioner is also to prescribe treatment and assist, if needed, with the hospital admittance of the patient in question.
In other news related to the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria on November 13:
During Question Time in Parliament, Health Minister Kostadin Angelov defended his order suspending in-person classes for high school pupils and sending them over to distance learning.
Citing his October 27 order, Angelov noted that at the time it was issued, there were ever-increasing indicators such as 14-day morbidity exceeding 120 per 100 000 population, the number of patients in hospital and the number of people who had died of Covid-19.
This trend was continuing and there was a significant escalation in the intensity of the epidemic, he said.
“The most affected by the new coronavirus are young and active people, with a rise in morbidity among high school pupils – aged 15-19 and junior high school pupils – 10-14,” he said.
Given this, and the available data that in children the virus can be asymptomatic with mild or atypical clinical manifestations, a specific measure has been introduced to disrupt transmission of the infection, limiting the possibility of infecting contact persons among teaching staff.
The measure aims to slow the development and intensity of the pandemic, Angelov said.
He issued a reminder that in the past, suspending classes was a measure that repeatedly had been used at times of seasonal flu.
The Supreme Administrative Prosecutor’s Office has contacted the Minister of Health and the directors of the Medicines Agency and the National Revenue Agency to check whether there is a shortage of medicines in hospitals and pharmacies in the country, the Prosecutor’s Office said on November 13.
The first step will be to be check whether there is a shortage, and whether it is being caused by manufacturers, importers or wholesalers holding stocks back.
There will also be a check whether exports of vital medicines have increased.
Prime Minister Boiko Borissov paid a surprise visit to Plovdiv mayor Zdravko Dimitrov, in hospital in the city for more than 10 days, several of which were spent in intensive care, after testing positive for Covid-19.
Dimitrov emerged from the hospital to speak to Borissov.
Borissov spent a mandatory period in quarantine after announcing on October 25 that he had tested positive for Covid-19. As a result of his positive test, several officials, including Health Minister Angelov, were quarantined.
On November 12, Borissov resumed his habit of taking Cabinet ministers and other senior office-bearers for drives in his official car. His passengers included Angelov and the head of Pirogov emergency hospital in Sofia, Professor Assen Baltov.
(Photo: Claude Truong Ngoc)
The Sofia Globe’s coverage of the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria is supported by the Embassies of Switzerland and Finland.
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