Covid-19: Bulgaria’s capital halts hospital admissions, visits
Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia is halting planned admissions, operations and visits to hospitals as of midnight on January 12 as a stepped-up measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the regional health inspectorate said.
Exceptions will be made for activities related to transplantation of organs, tissues and cells, diagnosis and treatment of patients with oncological and oncohaematological diseases, assisted reproduction activities and births, regardless of the method of delivery, rehabilitation activities, long-term treatment and psychiatric care, the inspectorate said.
According to Bulgaria’s unified information portal, as of January 10, the Covid-19 morbidity rate in the city of Sofia is 1099.58 out of 100 000 population on a 14-day basis.
Sofia city was classified as a Covid-19 dark red zone on January 1 after it passed the threshold of 500 or more out of 100 000 population on a 14-day basis. A week ago, on January 3, the Covid-19 morbidity rate in Sofia was 530.34 out of 100 000.
Bulgaria’s national Covid-19 morbidity rate currently is 660.69. On January 3, it was 357.79 per 100 000 population.
In other Covid-19 news in Bulgaria on January 10, a 48-year-old man employed at a laboratory in the mountain resort town of Pamporovo was arrested while receiving a 300 leva (about 150 euro) bribe to issue a fake green certificate for antibodies against coronavirus, prosecutors said.
Police acted after receiving a report from a journalist, prosecutor Nedko Simov said.
The employee had previously issued two fake certificates, entering the data into the national information system.
If he is found guilty, he could face prison from five to eight years, along with a fine of up to 10 000 leva.
People in Plovdiv who have fake vaccination certificates have been trying to get the jab for real, according to a report by Bulgarian National Television.
Dr Ekaterina Petkova, of the university hospital in the city, said that there had been cases of patients with fake vaccination certificates who had died, among them young people.
Those with fake certificates whose data have been entered into the system encounter difficulty in really getting the vaccine, because that data shows them as already having been vaccinated.
(Photo: Iwan Beijes)
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