50 diagnostic and consultative centres (polyclinics) in the country are to set up so-called Covid-zones, this transpired at the beginning of the week. Ten of them are to be in the region of Sofia and 40 on the territory of the entire country. They are expected to start functioning this week, with 6 million Leva being allocated to finance them. The specialized units are meant to take some of the pressure off the Covid wards in hospitals. There patients will be able to undergo a check-up by a doctor, take an antigen test free of charge, a blood test and, if need be, a chest X-ray.
“It is no problem for us to create such a Covid-zone, we are doing that at the moment anyway,” Dr. Vassil Vassilev, director of Diagnostic and Consultative Centre No. 12 says in an interview for the BNR’s Horizont channel. “Covid patients are among us. One of our X-ray machines is used only for coronavirus patients, the other one is for everyone else. We reorganized our work right away so as to have an entrance and an exit from the building where the Covid-zone is. The patients come in and have a rapid antigen test, the result is ready within 30 minutes. If the patient needs a check-up, there is a surgery next door with a doctor and a nurse. If they have an appointed X-ray and blood test, they will be performed without any contact with the other patients. The results of all tests are available online. I am grateful to the entire staff who back me. We have been working since the start of the pandemic. Two trainees are also going to join our work roster.”
The people in need of hospital treatment will be transported to the respective medical establishment by the emergency services. Those in need of home therapy will be cared for by their general practitioners, as before. GPs who monitor Covid patients will receive an additional stimulus of 1,000 Leva. They have to register the condition of the patient in the system on a daily basis, and to prescribe treatment with house calls or over the telephone. Referrals for tests are supposed to be prescribed electronically, GPs are to be able to prescribe rapid antigen tests with certain symptoms.
Compiled by Darina Grigorova
A six-day handicrafts festival in Veliko Tarnovo kicks off the celebrations of Bulgaria's 116th anniversary of independence , reports BNR correspondent Zdravka Maslyankova. More than 80 craftsmen from all over the country will take part in the..
St. Sophia - the church that gave the Bulgarian capital its present-day name - is dwarfed by St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral , which towers in the centre of the square of the same name. With its white façade, gleaming gold and green domes and beautiful..
A few days before the start of the new 2024-2025 school year, the idea of a complete ban on mobile phones in school is emerging in public space . The main reasons for such a decision are the low success rate in school, the absent-mindedness of..
Master confectioners will today create the longest bar of chocolate at the Choco Art festival in Plovdiv. All visitors are invited to munch on the giant,..
On the occasion of today's Stara Zagora Day, residents and guests of the city are invited to a free tour. During the "Parks tell their stories" tour,..
Sister Mary Grace is one of seven nuns at the Benedictine convent in Tsarev Brod village in Northeastern Bulgaria. She is 27 and is from Tanzania. The..
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
sunshine, cloud, rain and thunder
Mostly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Overcast, rain