Bulgaria’s government extends epidemic emergency situation until July 15

At the regular weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers on June 24, Bulgaria’s Minister of Health Kiril Ananiev proposed extension of the emergency epidemic situation until July 15.

"My proposal is based not only on the latest data we know, but also on an in-depth analysis of the development of the disease in the country," he said. According to him, after June 9 there is a significant increase in the reported numbers of carriers and patients diagnosed with coronavirus.

"From May 27 to June 9, the average daily number of infected people in Bulgaria is 26. From June 10 to June 23, the daily number increases to 84 cases a day," the minister added.

He explained that the number of tests has also increased, with 36 licensed laboratories.

Kiril Ananiev pointed out the main conclusions: the causative agent is a virus of unknown origin and infectivity.

"There is no evidence of effective immunity. COVID-19 poses a serious danger to society - an asymptomatic virus carrier can also be a source of the disease, not just an infected one. There is no vaccine or specific prophylactic measure," he said.

Minister Ananiev said that no new measures will be introduced and the former restrictive measures won't be reinstated but the effective ones will stay in place.

We will rely on the anti-epidemic measures that we apply at the moment, which include:

• ban on entering Bulgaria
• quarantine for persons from certain countries;
• hand washing hygiene;
• disinfection;
• wearing face masks in indoor public places;
• work from home;
• limiting the gathering of groups of people and mass events;

We will significantly increase control over the compliance with anti-epidemic measures, the minister stressed.

In turn, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov called on the government to extend the emergency epidemic situation until July 15.

"There is no one in the world to tell us what is right. Our critics say were work on trial and error. The whole world works like this. The measures we have introduced are working." he remarked.

However, the Prime Minister acknowledged that there was great tension in the society, when people stayed in their homes in April and May.

Gradually we opened everything and asked only for discipline. We gave our football players the opportunity to play in front of an audience and what the audience did - gathered in one place, so the restriction now is 1,000 people. But if they continue to get together in one place, we will close the stadiums for audience.

Fortunately, the number of recoveries is growing, we use the best medicines for treatment of those who are ill. Unfortunately, the virus did not fade away with the warm weather as many doctors have said. People get infected, just like in the winter, he said.