Covid-19 in Bulgaria: Day 344

published on 2/14/21 5:35 PM

Photo: BGNES

Bulgaria reports higher number of new infections than recoveries

506 new cases of coronavirus have been identified in the past 24 hours out of the 6,537 tests performed, according to data from the National Coronavirus Information Portal. Positive samples are equal to nearly 8%.

The highest number of new cases is in Sofia - 170, followed by Burgas - 57 and Kyustendil - 40.

389 persons have been cured, 14 people have died, and 3,375 patients are in hospital - 302 of them in intensive care units.

There are 16 new cases among medical professionals, as the total number of cases among medical staff diagnosed with Covid-19 since the beginning of the epidemic has reached 9,834.

Yesterday 626 doses of vaccines were given and with them the total number became 75,320. The persons inoculated also with the second dose are 20,674.

Bulgaria's PM: Restaurants will reopen on March 1

"We will keep our commitment and open the restaurants and cafes on March 1," Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov wrote on his Facebook page. He pointed out that the morbidity levels of Covid-19 were good and that was why tomorrow school children would return to school in smaller towns.

He also wrote that by the end of the month, hospitals in the town of Isperih would receive the money to increase salaries, as well as funds for front-line medical workers.

With BGN 50 million (EUR 25.6 million) for the first time at the end of last year, the state financed the municipal hospitals that opened Covid-19 wards, the prime minister added.

New wave of coronavirus in Bulgaria is expected to reach peak before elections

The peak of the next wave of Covid-19 will come before the elections on April 4 and everything will depend on the spread of the new variants, the state health inspector Assoc. Prof. Angel Kunchev told BNR.

He added that 68 positive samples of the British strain have been found in recent days. According to him, more and more young people are getting sick from this type of coronavirus, which is transmitted faster and "there is no change in the direction of a more severe course."

The number of hospitalized patients has increased to 3,000, and in intensive care units to more than 300, said the health inspector.

Kunchev also announced that the supply of vaccines would be accelerated in February, but predicted that there would not be enough people willing to be vaccinated.

Vaccines against Covid-19 are likely to create two years of immunity

There is no increase in the number of side effects, as well as deaths after vaccination against coronavirus, Prof. Ilko Getov, Bulgaria's representative at the European Medicines Agency, told BNR.

"One of the great advantages of vaccines is that even if you become infected again, which is not impossible, the likelihood of severe complications is zero," he explained.

It is assumed that the vaccines will create at least two years of immunity, while the acquired immunity after being sick is up to six months, said Prof. Ilko Getov.

He added that by the end of March, the AstraZeneca vaccine would now be available also for older patients. According to Prof. Ilko Getov, it is a matter of responsibility not to rush to loosen the measures, as we will soon reach the threshold of 1,500 new infections per day.

Antibodies neutralize all variants of the coronavirus: Prof. Radka Argirova

All antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 so far neutralize its variants, Prof. Radka Argirova, chairman of the Bulgarian Society of Virology, said in an interview with the Bulgarian National Television. The vaccines work, there is currently no new strain and everything is SARS-CoV-2, she specified.

It is possible for the amount of antibodies to increase over time and this is the effect of cellular immunity, the scientist explained. Prof. Radka Argirova admitted the possibility of seeing the appearance of more mutations and variants of the coronavirus.

"We already have a Brazilian, a South African, a week ago a Japanese variant appeared, in the summer we went through the Spanish variant," she added. According to her, when a certain number of mutations and variants accumulate, there will be a new strain.

Compiled by Diana Tsankova

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