Coronavirus Cases in Bulgaria Reach 81, Bansko Ski Resort Locked Down

The number of patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection in Bulgaria has already reached 81, coronavirus task force chief Maj. Gen. Ventsislav Moutafchiiski said at his regular afternoon news briefing on Tuesday.

There are more zones of infection throughout the country, including a patient in the town of Lovech and two in Pernik. Other than that, the cases are mainly concentrated in Sofia, as well as Pleven and Gabrovo. There is a patient under observation in Lom. Two cases have also been confirmed in Blagoevgrad.

At an extraordinary news briefing in the evening, Moutafchiiski announced a total lockdown of the mountain resort town of Bansko in Southwestern Bulgaria, effective 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The measure will be in place for two weeks. Inside Bansko, people are barred off the streets, except when it is absolutely necessary to go to a grocer's shop, a healthcare facility, a pharmacy, a bank office, an insurance company office or a filling station.

The restrictions do not apply to trucks carrying food products, water and electricity company employees, health inspectors, police officers, firefighters and medical workers who provide emergency treatment not available in the town.

The 10,000-population town is one of Bulgaria's popular winter resorts. It has a medical centre and five general practitioners. Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said there are about 200 foreign tourists in Bansko. She said: "We contacted the embassies of the respective countries. The foreign tourists will be able to leave the town within 24 hours. Those who stay behind will be quarantined and will have to comply with all restrictions. The tourists are not many; some of the Britons are already leaving. Israeli tourists left the town yesterday and today. If the few remaining tourists also choose to leave, we will provide controlled transportation to the airport [in Sofia]."

At the afternoon briefing it emerged that patients diagnosed in Bulgaria on Tuesday show moderate symptoms and are not in serious condition. The condition of the initial coronavirus patients is improving.

The President of the Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union (BPU), Prof. Asena Stoimenova, said that the BPU and the coronavirus task force have discussed possibilities for optimizing the medicine supply process, as well as for inspections of pharmacies, which would not interfere with their work. The measures are yet to be discussed in detail at the Ministry of Health.

Eighty-five staff members at Sofia's City Hospital No. 2 have tendered their resignations. The hospital is being transformed into an infectious-disease-only facility where coronavirus patients will be admitted.

The head of the hospital's intensive care ward, Dr Georgi Todorov, told bTV that for two weeks there has been no information about the fate of the hospital and its patients. According to him, the hospital does not have enough qualified specialists to treat patients with acute respiratory failure, and no equipment and protective clothing either. Dr Todorov said that the majority of doctors are either of pre-retirement or retirement age and are concerned about their safety while working with coronavirus patients.

On Tuesday morning the medics met with representatives of the Bulgarian Medical Association. Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova, who also visited the hospital, told bTV that no coronavirus patients will be admitted until the hospital has the necessary equipment and staff.

It emerged later in the day that City Hospital No. 2 would
dedicate one ward for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Several hundred workers at the Yazaki plant between Haskovo and Dimitrovgrad refused to check in for work and declared a strike because of the allegedly poor hygiene which creates a risk of COVID-19 infections and the management's refusal to allow workers to take leave.

Department head Delcho Zhelev said that all precautions have been taken and that a decision of the senior management in Japan is pending. On Monday a large order for protective masks was made and they are expected to arrive on Tuesday.

The authorities carried out inspections on site and found disinfectants, a filter at the entry and enough space between assembly line stations.

Source: BTA