The serious shortage of frontline doctors and nurses is the biggest problem the healthcare system in Bulgaria is currently faced with, Minister of Health, Dr. Kostadin Angelov said at a briefing of the National Coronavirus Response Headquarters. "Everyone is tired, many healthcare workers are infected, sick, some are in intensive care," he said. According to him, 1727 medical professionals have been affected by the coronavirus since the beginning of the epidemic.

The Minister sees a solution for the staff shortage in the medical establishments with the help of the doctors from the pre-hospital and especially from the specialized medical care. The assistance of medical universities and colleges will also be sought - for example, students in the sixth year of state internship could help doctors.

Despite the significant increase in the number of people infected with Covid-19 in Bulgaria, we retain the 25^th place in Europe in terms of morbidity, while we have lost one place in terms of mortality and are now 9^th in Europe, the state health inspector Assoc. Prof. Dr. Angel Kunchev said. He added that in the last two weeks there has been a sharp curve of increasing morbidity and declining age of those infected in Bulgaria. The mortality rate also tends to rise, albeit at a slower pace.

By Monday, all medical institutions on the territory of Sofia must organize Covid-19 wards and attach to them the necessary medical staff. A similar order was issued by the director of the capital's Regional Health Inspectorate, Dr. Dancho Penchev, as the Minister of Health added that all leaders must remain in their seats and issued a ban to the directors of hospitals to go on leave. Kostadin Angelov reiterated that the only way to reduce the pressure on the healthcare system was to comply with anti-epidemic measures.

"The key here is the social distancing," said Prof. Todor Kantardzhiev, director of the National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases. He added that if we walk alone on the street or walk in the park, it is not necessary to wear a mask. "We need to wear a mask in order to protect each other from a person who is closer than a meter and a half to us. If this is observed, there is no need for a mask, if it is not observed, we need a mask," he stressed.

English Rossitsa Petcova