Chief State Health Inspector Angel Kunchev: It is possible that the requirement for wearing masks in hospitals and social facilities be reinstated from Monday

It is expected that today the Bulgarian Council of Ministers will approve the new national plan with possible Covid measures. They could be implemented as early as Monday. This is what Chief State Health Inspector of Bulgaria, Angel Kunchev, said during today’s briefing.

The measures that are expected for proposal, are “simple and light” - use of masks, obligatory only in certain locations - health institutions, nursing homes and places where many people gather or with sick individuals, searching for help or diagnosis.

If this plan is approved, I am ready to make a proposal by the end of this week, which could be executed as an order from the Minister of Health and sent for implementation to all institutions. At this stage, the use of masks in public transport and stores will remain advisable for the most affected regions, declared Kunchev.

In case this increasing pace of the Covid infection rate continues, the range of locations with obligatory usage of masks could be expanded from next week. There are two possibilities - it could be implemented on a national level or locally, explained Kunchev.

“One option is to implement them now in 5 or 6 municipalities that already have a higher infection rate than others, but the situation is very dynamic and I expect that next week other municipalities will join this group as well. Therefore, it is possible that a different decision will be made and the measures be on a national level,” said the Chief State Health Inspector.

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According to him, this will not lead to any difficulties for the economy, nor for social life or tourism.

“It is hard for me to say what will happen in the future, because the number of infected is increasing, but there is not such an increase in the number of hospitalised individuals. We are monitoring the situation carefully. The fact that the number is increasing is obvious, this is the case for all of Europe. If the virus continues to pass more easily like it does currently, the consequences will not be so serious. I will use this moment to say that every person who wants to protect themselves does not need plans, not do they need orders or control. They could wear a mask wherever they consider necessary, avoid places with large gatherings of people, keep good hygiene and air out the rooms. During the summer, this is an effective enough measure to rapidly decrease the transmission rate”, added Kunchev.

He explained that efforts are made for general medical practitioners to be able to give medical referrals for rapid tests. His personal desire is that they not only give referrals, but also do tests on site. According to him, the Regional Health Inspectorates should have the operational discretion to open specialised units where needed.

“With the end of the epidemic emergency situation, many of the measures were dropped, which hinders the job. The best practice is for each person who does not feel well, to receive a diagnosis in the fastest, easiest, most accessible way and free of charge. The most natural situation is that this happens in the cabinet of their GP with a free rapid test. It would be best if the GP could give a medical referral for a PCR test, so the patient does not have to go from cabinet to cabinet and instead receives their diagnosis and treatment on the first meeting with their doctor.”

10 municipalities in the country already have more than 100 infected per 100 000 people. Plovdiv and Razgrad are already in the yellow zone.

Two more districts re-designated as Covid-19 yellow zones

Yesterday a proposal for the GPs to be allowed once again to give referrals for free rapid Covid tests was made from the Ministry of Health.

Experts note that the peak of the infection rate will be reached quickly and the decrease will be slow. At this stage there are no additional measures. According to the Covid map that the Ministry of Health uses to decide whether or not to tighten the measures, in five days two more regions will enter Phase 1 of the infection. It is in this phase when the educational institutions must test the teaching professionals and non-pedagogical staff once a week, while all visits to museums and other institutions, as well as trips and excursions, are cancelled.