More Stringent Anti-Epidemic Measures in Sofia as of Friday

On Friday, March 12, Sofia residents will wake up to new, more stringent anti-epidemic measures. All school students, 5th through 12th grade in the capital will be back to online learning, and all restaurants, including those in hotels as well as gaming venues, will work with limited working hours till 10 p.m. In-person classes in higher schools and extracurricular activities centres are suspended.

The decision was adopted today by the Sofia Task Force Headquarters. For now, these measures will be in force for two weeks – from 12 to 26 March.

On the proposal of the Director of the Regional Health Inspectorate, Dr. Penchev, further tightening of anti-epidemic is possiblein case of persistent growth of morbidity, as visits to the large shopping centers and gyms may be banned again.

Sofia Municipality, Sofia Health Inspectorate and Sofia Directorate of Interior have started raids on malls, restaurants and public transport to check the compliance with anti-epidemic measures.

All employers are advised to opt for working from home or taking shifts where possible.

In the nursing homes on the territory of Sofia Municipality are visits of outsiders are suspended.

On the territory of Sofia Municipality organized excursions, festivals and gatherings, where a large number of people are crowding in the open air are forbidden.

The Sofia Headquarters proposes to the Minister of Education to shift the dates for school competitions and Olympiads, which are planned for March, including the spring mathematical competitions scheduled for the end of the month.

According to the latest data, Sofia hurdled the barrier of 500 diseases per 100,000 people. Worryingly, those infected with COVID-19 become increasingly younger , with 51 years as the average age today.

There is also significant increase in pressure on the health system – in 14 days the total number of hospitalized increased by 645 people. Calls to emergency services for cases with coronavirus have spiked by 30%.

According to data of the Sofia Health Inspectorate, the total number of vaccinated citizens on the territory of Sofia Municipality is over 86,000. Today, vaccinations of members of election committees continue. In the last week, the Sofia Directorate of Interior teams have inspected 298 outlets. More than 1,400 checks were carried out by the Sofia Health Inspectorate teams in shopping centres, both for wearing masks and for allowing gathering of larger numbers of customers. Meanwhile1,912 quarantine compliance checks were carried out.

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