Covid-19 in Bulgaria: 57 Delta variant cases found in 90 samples
Bulgaria’s National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCIPD) has completed the sequencing of 90 samples taken from Covid-19 patients in the country, finding 57 instances of the Delta variant and 33 Alpha variant cases, NCIPD said on July 30.
The samples had been taken over a period of time ranging from June 29 to July 16 and came from 18 out of Bulgaria’s 28 districts. Separately, there were four samples taken from foreign nationals, although the NCIPD statement did not clarify if the people tested were permanent residents or tourists.
As of July 19, two patients who had been shown by the sequencing to have had the Delta variant had died, as did three patients with the Alpha variant, the NCIPD data showed.
Seventeen of those with the Delta variant were in hospital, 35 were undergoing home treatment and three had recovered. Of those who had the Alpha variant, 13 were in hospital, 16 were undergoing home treatment and one had recovered as of July 19.
The Delta variant samples came from the city of Sofia (23), the districts of Bourgas and Varna (seven each), the district of Pleven (three), the districts of Sofia, Stara Zagora, Pernik, Rousse and Smolyan (two each), and one each from the districts of Plovdiv, Shoumen, Vratsa and Montana.
Of the four samples from foreign nationals, three were taken in the district of Bourgas – two tested positive for the Delta variant and one for the Alpha variant – and one sample taken in the district of Varna had the Delta variant.
NCIPD genetic sequencing data made public throughout July has consistently shown that the Delta variant had replaced the Alpha one as the dominant one in capital city Sofia, but the latest figures showed an increased number of Delta variant cases in the rest of the country as well.
| Date | July 7 | July 14 | July 22 | July 30 |
| Alpha/Delta cases in Sofia | 14 / 33 | 5 / 6 | 9 / 24 | 4 / 23 |
| Alpha/Delta cases outside Sofia | 35 / 10 | 52 / 16 | 23 / 29 | 29 / 34 |
| Total | 49 / 43 | 57 / 22 | 32 / 53 | 33 / 57 |
With the exception of the figures announced on July 14, which was skewed by the very low number of samples from the city of Sofia, the data showed that the Delta variant was well on the way of replacing the Alpha strain as the dominant one in Bulgaria.
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