A record incidence of coronavirus in Bulgaria was reported by the Ministry of Health at the regular briefing. Deputy Minister Boyko Penkov announced that there is a continuous increase. In the last three years, the incidence has jumped to more than 220 per 100,000 population. There is a 102% increase in the weekly number of infected.
In 14 districts in our country there are over 120 per 100,000. In other 5 districts – over 60 per 100,000 people.
Bulgaria ranks 21st in the European Union in terms of morbidity and second in the Balkans. In terms of mortality, our country ranks 10th in the EU and fourth in the Balkans.
Penkov announced another alarming news. The European Union is far from the collective immunity so often mentioned. Only about 15% of the population has built one to date.
There is also a tendency for an increase in the number of deaths in our country, as only for the last week the increase is by 50%. The highest increase is in people aged between 70 and 79 years – 30% of deaths.
The highest mortality is among people over 90 years of age – over 30% are very severe and fatal. At 80-89 years – 20%.
An increase is reported at all ages, with the highest incidence being people between 20 and 60 years of age.
There is also an increase in the incidence of high school students – between 15 and 19 years and in junior high school – 10-14 years, not a large percentage, but in absolute numbers.
Anxious growth is reported for those admitted to hospital. They increase by a third. The number of people in the intensive care units is also increasing and is about 7% of all hospitalized.
Currently, there are more than 2,000 infected medical personnel. This is nearly 5% of the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases. Of the infected, 37% are doctors and 33% are nurses.
For his part, Prof. Todor Kantardzhiev reiterated that the most important thing is to wear masks.
He explained:
“If someone is sick, it can protect you over 30%. This infection occurs during long periods of exposure. In a calm conversation, it takes an hour to get infected.”
Kantardzhiev advised not to overdose on vitamin D and not to use immunostimulants in large quantities. He added:
“Those who can’t stand it shouldn’t watch TV all the time about what happens to the coronavirus, because things are overexposed. That’s why they enjoy listening to unscientific stories. For example, to put a mosquito net. The mask will also save from coronavirus. The most important thing is control and self-control.”
Prof. Kantardzhiev also said that in his opinion, rapid antigen tests should be adopted. According to him, they can be done from the nurse to the professor. In addition, they are cheap – they cost between 15 and 20 leva and show immediately if someone is infected.
He explained:
“They are not as sensitive as PCRs, but they happen in one day, and in a week they will happen in 2-3 days, because the laboratories are overloaded. There are over 180 laboratories that perform PCR tests.”
Kantardzhiev announced another alarming news, namely that yesterday for the first time in the National Reference Laboratory there were 38.8% positive tests.
The director of „Pirogov“ said that the initiative „Let’s help each other together“ has been launched for two days. He explained that 75-80 people pass through the hospital every day, who must be diagnosed and start treatment if necessary.
Two more compartments will be opened in Pirogov. They will have 30 beds, one of which will be only for hospital staff.
