Bulgarian government under pressure to impose severe COVID-19 measures

This week, the Bulgarian government will impose stricter restrictive measures as it grapples with the fourth wave of the pandemic. The country is expected to introduce a mandatory green pass for a number of public places indoors and limit mass events.

Health Minister Stoycho Katsarov described the COVID-19 situation as  “very serious and tense”, but lockdown and curfews will not be imposed at this stage.

Hospitals in Sofia report that their capacity to treat patients with coronavirus is limited and patients have been refused admission. The COVID-19 rate in Bulgaria is currently over 500 infected per 100,000 people.

At the end of last week, a 70-year-old woman died after six hospitals in Sofia had refused to admit her due to lack of places. Some 6,074 people with coronavirus are currently hospitalised in Bulgaria.

The country ranks last in vaccination in the EU, with only 20% of citizens vaccinated and the worst for mortality from COVID-19 in the last two months. The government has faced criticism that it is failing to rapidly increase the number of vaccinated people to stem the severity of the situation.

(Krassen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg)