Bulgaria receives new delivery of coronavirus vaccines

Another 17,550 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccines against Covid-19 have been delivered to Bulgaria. The delivery was delayed yesterday because of bad weather in Germany. From the logistics center of Sofia Airport, the vaccines will be distributed to all parts of the country, the Ministry of Health said. Another 6,000 doses of the vaccine of American pharmaceutical company Moderna are expected to arrive in Bulgaria this week.

Decline in births marked during Covid-19 crisis

The number of births in Bulgaria did not rise during the coronavirus pandemic. This is what an analysis of the Hospital Index shows. In 2020, the number of births in this country was 53,968, or 794 less in comparison to 2019. That is how last year was yet another one that marked declining birth rate in Bulgaria, BNR’s reporter Gergana Hrischeva informed. The share of cesarean births was 47%. The mortality rate during childbirth remains below 1%. In 2020, it was 0.62% against 0.52% in 2019.

9.6% of newly tested samples are positive for coronavirus

There have been 1,115 new cases of coronavirus registered in Bulgaria for the last 24 hours. About 9.6% of the 11,637 samples tested were positive, updated data published on the Single Information Portal at midnight show. During the past 24 hours most of the new cases were in Sofia - 275, followed by the districts of Burgas - 129, and Blagoevgrad - 74. There are 3,057 patients with coronavirus infection in hospitals, as 274 of them are in intensive care wards. 804 people have recovered and 89 patients have passed away. 1850 people have been vaccinated in the past 24 hours. The total number of people who have received a second dose of the vaccine has already reached 17,481.

Antigen tests cannot replace PCR tests for entry into Bulgaria: Health Minister

“If on 11 February the 14-day figures on the spread of Covid-19 are under 200 infections per 100,000 people we shall not seek new measures. The healthcare system is capable of coping with such figures,”Health Minister Prof. Kostadin Angelov said in the town of Byala where the start was given to a major project for the modernization of emergency medical aid in the country. “We are not considering the possibility of admission to the territory of the country with an antigen test. The only possible decision at the moment – and it is a European decision – is for entry into Bulgaria to be allowed with a PCR test,”Minister Angelov said, and added that antigen tests are used for screening and not for diagnostics. 

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.

Compiled by: Yoan Kolev and Radio Bulgaria’s news team

Translated by: Radio Bulgaria’s English service