site.btaSofia Regional Health Inspectorate Chief Resigns amid Quarantine Scandal

Sofia, October 26 (BTA) - Sofia Regional Health Inspectorate
(SRHI) Director Dancho Penchev resigned after talking to Health
Minister Kostadin Angelov, the Health Ministry said in a press
release on Monday.

Angelov accepted Penchev's resignation. The change came after a
quarantine imposed on Prime Minister Boyko Borissov was lifted
early, but the next day Borissov was officially confirmed with
COVID-19.

In the space of just a week, the SRHI, acting at Penchev's
discretion, made two exceptions to the standard quarantine rules
 for the contacts of people infected with coronavirus. The
exceptions were made for President Rumen Radev and Prime
Minister Borissov.

A relevant order issued by the Health Minister does not allow
for such exceptions. The SRHI Director argued, however, that
legal regulations allow for a quarantine to be lifted early in
the case of people whose job is of great public significance
such as the President, the Prime Minister, frontline physicians
or teachers. The assertion has been refuted by legal experts.
NV/VE