Bulgaria to tighten Covid-19 restrictions as of Oct 21
Bulgaria's caretaker government will tighten coronavirus restrictions by making the Covid-19 Green Certificate mandatory for attending most indoor events and activities as of October 21, in order to stem the rise in new infections the health ministry said.
There is a rise in the number of infected and hospitalised people over the last 14 days as well as the number of deaths associated with the disease, which forced the government to introduce tougher anti-epidemic measures, caretaker health minister Stoycho Katsarov said in a press release on Tuesday.
The Covid-19 green pass certifies that its holder has completed the vaccination cycle, has recovered from the disease, or has a negative PCR or antigen test.
The newly-imposed restrictions will apply for restaurants and bars, cinemas, theaters, gyms, sports halls and shops with a total shopping area of over 300 sq m, Katsarov said.
If people do not observe those restrictions, there will be no decline in Covid-19 cases, Katsarov noted. "If there is a shortage of hospital beds, the last and only measure remains a nationwide lockdown," he added.
As of Wednesday, there are a total of 550,555 registered coronavirus cases in Bulgaria, of which 65,331 still active. As many as 6,377 people infected with the virus are hospitalised. By October 20, Bulgaria, population around 6.5 million, has administered over 2.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, according to data published by the health ministry.