site.btaHospital Beds for Milder COVID-19 Cases Occupied at 40%, for Critical Cases at 23%

November 12 (BTA) - Hospital beds for COVID-19 patients without complications are occupied at 40 per cent, and for those in intensive care at 23 per cent, Health Minister Kostadin Angelov said at a briefing on Thursday. The highest occupancy rates have been reported in the regions of Blagoevgrad, Gabrovo, Pernik, Razgrad, Turgovishte and Shoumen.

According to Angelov, the daily number of recoveries has been increasing steadily to reach almost 1,000 currently.

The results so far show that the infection has been contained successfully in Bulgaria. The country is in 7th place in the EU in terms of mortality related to COVID-19. Additional measures are needed in regions where the spread of the disease has acquired dangerous proportions, Angelov said.

Experts are considering changing the time of day when only older people are allowed to visit groceries and pharmacies. According to Angelov new order, people aged 65 and over are allowed to visit groceries and pharmacies only between 8 am and 10 am. People under 65 are not allowed into such places during the two-hour period. Under-18 children may not visit shopping malls unless accompanied by a parent, a guardian or some other adult.

Until November 30, in-person school attendance is suspended for 5th to 12th grade students in regions where 14-day incidence of reported COVID-19 cases is above 119.9 per 100,000 population and at least 15 per cent of school students are absent for reasons related to the emergence of COVID-19 symptoms. In-person attendance is also suspended at universities, except for practical exercises which cannot be carried out remotely.

Elective admission to hospital and elective surgery in hospitals are suspended, except for cases involving organ transplantation, cancer diagnosis and treatment, assisted reproduction, childbirth or mental treatment.

The directors of regional health inspectorates are in charge of determining the minimum number of hospital beds to be set aside for COVID-19 patients in the respective region, but the number should be no less than 20 per cent of the capacity declared to the inspectorates. RI/VE
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