12 newly registered Coivid-19 cases in Bulgaria

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Bulgaria is 1,399,the National Crisis Headquarters announced. 12 new cases were confirmed on 28 April, 3 of them in Sofia region, and 9 in Vidin region. 287 of the coronavirus patients have been hospitalized, 39 are in intensive care. The number of medical workers with confirmed Covid-19 is 150. A total of 58 coronavirus patients have died, 222 have recovered.

Bulgaria has the most liberal measures against Covid-19, PM says in parliament

Bulgaria’s National Assembly heard out, at an extraordinary sitting, this country’s Premier Boyko Borissov on the government’s actions in the Covid-19 situation and the efficiency of the measures taken by the cabinet. Despite the crisis, many sectors of the national economy continue to function in full gear, he said, agriculture, construction and the IT sector are functioning in even faster mode than normally. Thanks to the support for businesses, by means of the 60/40 measure, 120,000 jobs will be preserved by the end of the month, the prime minister said but admitted that it is still a big mystery how the country is going to cope with the crisis in tourism. Bulgaria adopted relatively liberal measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Premier Borissov commented and added that the Covid-19 death toll in Bulgaria is among the lowest in Europe. The leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party Kornelia Ninova said that the government does not have a plan for exiting the crisis and the cabinet's forecast of the unemployment rate and the decline of the GDP is wrong.
The measures taken by the Bulgarian cabinet at this stage are good, the leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) Mustafa Karadayi said and added that the authorities must adopt a plan aimed at restoring the normal rhythm of life.

Bulgaria's government is working on measures against Covid-19 without state of emergency

The idea is for measures against the novel coronavirus to be taken legitimately without the existence of the state of emergency, Premier Borissov stated. The state of emergency in Bulgaria ends on May 13.

Bulgaria is entering a period of rethinking the measures against Covid-19

The measures in Bulgaria against the coronavirus are liberal because going to work has not been forbidden, the head of the National Crisis Headquarters against Covid-19 in Bulgaria told Deutsche Welle. General Ventsislav Mutafchiyski said the effect of the measures was being weakened because there was even denial of the existence of the problem and people have started going out more and more boldly.
“We are entering a period of rethinking the anti-epidemic measures and an analysis of what works and what does not needs to be done,” Mutafchiyski said.

There is no social breakdown in Bulgaria due to Covid-19

“Just as health-wise there is no peak in the prevalence of coronavirus, there is no major social breakdown either,” said Boriana Dimitrova from Alpha Research agency for the BNR.  Bulgaria is not in the eye of the storm, health-wise or socially, what it is going through is less severe. There is a loss of incomes, there is concern but there is no breakdown. The desire to ease the measures is not leading to a drop of confidence in the executive branch, the sociologist says. Boriana Dimitrova added that businesses are extremely mobilized for a restart but that being an open economy, Bulgaria cannot cope with the crisis by itself, without the recovery of the other EU countries.

Parents, teachers' unions call for keeping schools closed

Parents and unions of teachers in Bulgaria strongly oppose the idea of ​​reopening schools before the end of the school year. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov mentioned such an option for students in grades 7 and 12 who are about to apply for admission to high-schools and universities. In an online petition, parents say it is impossible to abide by the anti-epidemic measures of social distancing at school. The Education Union at the Pokrepa Confederation of Labour calls for completing the academic year via distance learning. They warn that many teachers will refuse to act as invigilators at the final exams for completing grades 7 and 12 because they are aged above 55 and fall in the high-risk group for Covid-19.

Bulgaria’s Ministry of Tourism expects a late summer tourist season, as of 1 July

Bulgaria’s Ministry of Tourism is planning to start in mid-June preparations for a late summer tourist season which is expected to begin on July 1, this country’s Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova said at a briefing held in the Council of Ministers building. Tourism forms 12% of Bulgaria’s gross domestic product and employs 11% of the entire workforce. That is why it is of extreme importance for Bulgaria to recover its tourism sector as quickly as possible, Minister Angelkova said and called on the sector to pool its efforts to ensure a high-quality tourist product. Encouraging domestic tourism and launching a holiday voucher system for Bulgarians in the country are some of the measures.

TUs seek to have Covid-19 recognized as occupational disease

On World Day for Safety and Health, 28 April, the two leading trade unions in Bulgaria – the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) and the Confederation of Labour Podkrepa – are demanding that Covid-19 be included in the ordinance on the protection of workers from risks connected to exposure to biological agents during work. The aim is to ensure better protection in the workplace, as well as to guarantee compensations and medical assistance. “When we talk of safety and health at work, employers have a responsibility to each and every worker, and to the staff as a whole,” said Alexander Zagorov, confederal secretary of the Confederation of Labour Podkrepa.

In the conditions of pandemic Bulgaria's rose producers fear mass bankruptcies

“In the current crisis, there are problems connected with the registration of rose producers, the sanitary measures for combating the coronavirus infection in the fields, the transportation of workers and the forecasts of distilleries that they will operate at 50% of their capacity this year,” the chairman of the professional organization of producers of roses in Bulgaria, Hristo Nikolov said. On the eve of the rose-picking season, this sector is faced with mass bankruptcies, Hristo Nikolov added. The rose-harvesting season is expected to start in early May and traditionally involves about 40,000 people.

Compiled by Elena Karkalanova and Radio Bulgaria's “News” team

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