Tracking phones of quarantined people is unconstitutional

The Constitutional Court has declared the tracking of the phones of people who do not observe mandatory quarantine, contrary to the basic law. This is what BNR reporter Silvia Velikova said. Mobile control was introduced in April this year with an amendment to the Electronic Communications Act. BSP for Bulgaria alarmed the Constitutional Court on the grounds that the changes, which will continue to operate even after the state of emergency imposed on March 13 is over, open the door to abuse and the possibility of mass tracking of large numbers of people.

Bulgaria is included in all EU lists of potential Covid-19 vaccines

Bulgaria has been included in all EU lists of potential Covid-19 vaccines and we will receive this vaccine the moment it is ready for use, this country’s Premier Boyko Borissov said at a working meeting related to the management of the coronavirus crisis. Currently, there are 46,000 hospital beds for active treatment in this country, Premier Borissov went on to say. However, he warned the hospitals to focus on patients with underlying health conditions and severe symptoms of coronavirus infection. Bulgaria’s Minister of Health Kostadin Angelov informed that the pharmaceutical factory in Razgrad is to supply the pharmacies with large quantities of antibiotics to make up for the shortage of these medicines.

General practitioners still waiting for official protocols to treat Covid-19 patients

General practitioners have not yet received official protocols or basic guidelines how to treat Covid-19 patients, which medicines are appropriate and which are not, GP Ira Markova has told BNR. She also pointed out that the general practitioners expect the validation of antigen tests which are three times cheaper than the PCR tests and are more accessible to the population.

Several days ago, Dr. Georgi Mindov, Chairman of the Association of General Practitioners in Sofia told BNR that his colleagues were using French or German protocols for treatment of Covid-19 infections. However, there were significant differences between them.

44% of tests return positive for Covid-19 in past day

Bulgaria has registered a total of 3,519 new cases of Covid-19 with 7,934 PCR tests performed in the past 24 hours. With the latest numbers, the psychological barrier of 100,000 cases of coronavirus identified since the beginning of the epidemic in Bulgaria have been crossed, data of the National Coronavirus Information Portal show. All confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic are 101,770 with 864,550 PCR tests performed. There are currently 69,171 active cases of coronavirus infection in Bulgaria. A total of 5,353 patients are in hospital, with 288 of them in intensive care. In the last 24 hours, 152 people with coronavirus infection have died, bringing the total death toll to 2,282 since the beginning of the crisis. 942 patients have recovered, making the total number of recovered patients reach 30,317.

Hospitals only for patients with coronavirus

In each regional city of Bulgaria there will be at least one hospital entirely for patients with coronavirus and one for patients without coronavirus. This was ordered by the Minister of Health to the regional governors, who must indicate the selected medical institutions by the end of the week, BGNES has reported. The step was necessary, as in Bulgaria the limit of 600 infected per 100 thousand people has been crossed.

Covid-19 crisis does not hinder investments, economy minister says

In the third quarter of 2020, Bulgaria’s gross domestic product marked a 4.3% increase as compared to the previous trimester, this country’s Minister of Economy Lachezar Borisov announced. The Covid-19 crisis has not hindered investments in this country, Minister Borisov added. Certified investment projects amount to nearly EUR 383 million this year, the Ministry of Economy announced. Bulgaria continues to be among the leading EU countries in terms of macroeconomic and financial stability, Minister Borissov pointed out on occasion of a new investment made in production capacity in Sofia. More on foreign investments during pandemic can be found here.

You can find all stories and important publications related to Covid-19 in Bulgaria at our special coverage section in English.

You can also follow all latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak and all measures in Bulgaria in 9 more languages at Radio Bulgaria.

Editor: Yoan Kolev