Anti-coronavirus measures in Bulgaria are not going to be tightened but control of their observance will. This was made clear at today’s weekly briefing by the National Operational Headquarters.

“People in Bulgaria have absolutely no reason to worry because no tightening of the anti-coronavirus measures is necessary,” said Minister of Health Prof. Kostadin Angelov and added that “the only thing we shall continue to do is exercise control”.

He added that there was no appreciable increase in the number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals even though the number of coronavirus cases among medical staff has been going up. Hospital bed occupancy rate at this time is 5% at intensive care units, and 14% at specialized hospital wards.

The requirement for a PCR test after the 14-day quarantine is to be dropped, Minister Angelov announced, adding that the reason was that two weeks after infection, the viral load drops inside the human body, meaning there is no danger of the patient spreading the disease. However, PCR tests after quarantine will continue to be conducted with people with underlying conditions, explained Dr. Dancho Penchev, Director of the Sofia Regional Health Inspectorate.

We have low levels of Covid-19 incidence among children at schools, Minister of Health Prof. Kostadin Angelov said. He added that 3 in 1,000 school classes in Bulgaria are under quarantine. Chief State Health Inspector Assoc. Prof. Angel Kunchev on his part stated that despite fears at the beginning of the school year, it has been proven that if all measures are complied with, schools can be a safe place. At the moment less than 1% of educational establishment are affected.

In the words of Assoc. Prof. Kunchev, even though the number of Covid-19 cases has been going up, Bulgaria has kept its position in terms of incidence and mortality rate, and this against the background of a considerable spike across Europe. “The incidence rate in the EU in the past two weeks is +23%, exactly the same as the rate in Bulgaria. This puts the country in a comparatively favourable position, as we are maintaining the average for Europe incidence rates,” Assoc. Prof. Kunchev explained further.