Bulgaria’s Health Minister: Too early to talk about easing measures against new coronavirus
It is too early to talk about loosening measures against new coronavirus, Health Minister Kostadin Angelov said on December 14.
He was speaking after he and Deputy Minister Slavi Pachalov checked the available quantities of antigen tests and protective equipment for medical staff at the Bulgarian Red Cross central warehouse in the village of Lozen near capital city Sofia.
Angelov said that it was his personal view that nightclubs should remain closed.
December 21, the date the current heightened measures are currently scheduled to expire, would be too early to resume in-person attendance at schools and kindergartens. That may happen after the New Year, he said.
A decision will be made whether to allow restaurants and shopping malls to re-open.
Angelov said that he would insist that the measures due to expire on December 21 would remain in place unchanged.
“I insist that everything be as safe as possible for Bulgarian citizens, because if we continue to pay the price of 150 Bulgarians who lost their lives, this is not good,” Angelov said, referring to the average number of deaths per day in Bulgaria linked to Covid-19.
He said that morbidity has dropped below 600 per 100 000, “which gives us a glimmer of hope”.
Discussions about including antigen test results in daily statistics would be concluded by December 21.
“By the end of this week, almost 1.2 million antigen tests will reach all medical institutions, emergency centre, regional health inspectorates.”
It remains unclear what percentage of doctors in the country have said that they want to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Angelov said that he expected to have the figure later on December 14. Currently, the percentages in different areas range from 20 to 48 per cent.
Angelov said that he wanted to be vaccinated.
“I do not fall within the scope of the first phase, I am not a first-line doctor, but with this act I want to show all Bulgarian citizens that the vaccine is extremely reliable, effective and safe.”
He said that he trusted the European regulator regarding its conclusions.
(Screenshot: BNT)
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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