Bulgaria’s epidemic situation: Health Minister issues 4 orders

Bulgaria’s Health Minister Kiril Ananiev issued four orders to be in force during the epidemic situation in the country, which was adopted last night by the government for the period May 14 - June 14. The orders introduce the specific anti-epidemic measures on the territory of the country, the Ministry of Health’s press office said on May 14.

One of the orders is on the obligatory isolation of the confirmed cases of Covid-19, the quarantine of the contacts of the infected, the medical monitoring etc.

Another order introduces the temporary ban on entering Bulgaria and describes the exceptions in detail.

Order № РД-01-263 regulates the activities related to holding cultural events.

The temporary ban on the entry to Bulgaria of foreigners, introduced during the state of emergency, remains in force.

Bulgarians returning to the country are required to be in 14-day quarantine. The restriction does not apply to the entry into Bulgaria of non-EU nationals who have permanent or long-term residence or who are family members of Bulgarian citizens.

Cross-border workers are allowed to enter the country, but are required to submit a declaration that they have not had symptoms of Covid-19 in the past 14 days and have an employment contract with an employer, or a letter from an employer.

The wearing of a mask or other appropriate face covering remains compulsory for indoor public places, including supermarkets, and people not from the same family should keep a physical distance of 1.5 metres from each other while outdoors.

It is forbidden for persons under the age of 60 to visit supermarkets, food shops and pharmacies daily from 8:30 am to 10:30 am

The ban on visits to entertainment and gaming halls, discos and bars, indoor areas of restaurants and entertainment venues, and shopping malls remains in place until June 14. The exception is financial institutions, supermarkets, food shops, pharmacies in shopping malls.

Schools, universities and kindergartens remain closed.

Any organised gatherings of groups of more than 10 people are not allowed.

Public parks and gardens are now open to all. Sitting on benches remains banned. Children’s playgrounds remain closed

Visits to museums, galleries, libraries and cinemas are allowed, but only up to 30% of their seats capacity may be filled

Indoor sports are not allowed.

Employers should arrange for their staff to work from home to the greatest possible extent. It is also recommended that people aged over 60 also work from home wherever possible.

When this is not possible, the employer should take all anti-epidemic measures and there must be disinfection of the workplace, physical distancing of 1.5 metres and people with symptoms of acute respiratory diseases must not be admitted to the workplace. Personal protective equipment should be supplied to staff.