Bulgaria’s government says Covid epidemic declaration will not be extended beyond March 31
Bulgaria’s government said in a statement on March 26 that it would not extend the Covid-19 epidemic declaration beyond its current scheduled expiry date of March 31.
The statement said that this followed the topic being discussed in detail by Cabinet ministers several times over the past month.
It said that after almost two years, “currently the situation is monitored and managed in a predictable way and there is no need for new extensions and restrictions on citizens and businesses”.
As of April 1 2022, a number of anti-epidemic measures fall away, the statement said.
These include wearing protective masks in closed public places, observing physical distance, and restrictions on the number of people visiting indoor places at the same time.
Also abolished as of that date are restrictions on in-person learning at universities, bans on visits to hospitals and social services; and the requirement for employers to have no more than 50 per cent of staff physically present at the workplace.
The negotiation of the new national framework agreement with the National Health Insurance Fund is currently underway, within which the possibilities for a permanent increase in the salaries of doctors and nurses are being discussed, regardless of the epidemiological situation, the statement said.
As of March 26, Bulgaria’s national Covid-19 morbidity rate is 306.25 out of 100 000 population on a 14-day basis.
There are 2020 patients with Covid-19 in hospital in Bulgaria.
The country’s death toll linked to the disease is 36 425, while Bulgaria has the lowest percentage in the EU-EEA area in terms of first doses and completed cycles of vaccination against Covid-19.
In statements to local media on March 26, Chief State Health Inspector Angel Kunchev said that his recommendation had been to continue the epidemic declaration to May 15. Kunchev recently repeatedly has pointed out that the Covid-19 crisis is not over.
Bulgaria declared a State of Emergency on March 13 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. That was succeeded by a declaration of a Covid-19 epidemic, a declaration which – until now – repeatedly had been extended.
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