site.btaPupils in Grades 5-12 Back to Remote Schooling in Sofia

Sofia, March 10 (BTA) - As of Friday, March 12, all pupils in
grades 5 to 12 in Sofia will switch back to online classes.
Eating, drinking and entertainment establishments, including
hotel restaurants and gambling facilities, will remain open but
their working hours will be limited to 10 p.m. until March 26,
Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova wrote in a Facebook post.
   
In-person classes are also suspended in higher education
institutions and centres for extracurricular activities for a
period of two weeks, March 12-26. The new measures to limit the
spread of COVID-19 were approved at a sitting of Sofia's
coronavirus task force on Wednesday. 

At the suggestion of Sofia Regional Health Inspectorate director
 Dancho Penchev, a further tightening of the measures is being
considered in case the morbidity rate continues to grow. It will
 consist of banning access to large commercial centers and
gymnasiums.

The Sofia Municipality, the Sofia Health Inspectorate and the
Sofia police are starting a campaign to check if antiepidemic
measures are observed in commercial venues, catering or
entertainment establishments, and in public transport.
 
Employers are advised to switch to working from home or divide
personnel into shifts where possible.
 
Social care homes on the territory of Sofia Municipality will be
 closed to outside visitors.

On the territory of Sofia Municipality, organized trips,
festivals and other gatherings of many people in the open are
banned.

Sofia's task force advises the Minister of Education to postpone
 student competitions and olympiads scheduled for March,
including the spring mathematics competitions scheduled for the
end of the month.

The latest data show that Sofia has crossed the threshold of 500
 cases per 100,000 people. It is alarming that the average age
of COVID-19 patients is continuing to drop, and today it stands
at 51 years, Mayor Fandakova wrote in her post. The number of
coronavirus-related calls to the Emergency Medical Services has
increased by 30 per cent.

The number of hospitalized people in Sofia has reached the
values of mid-November when a sudden spike in hospitalizations
was first registered. There are over 1,630 people in hospital at
  the moment, and 191 of them are in intensive care.

By order of the Health Minister, Sofia's hospitals are opening
additional beds for COVID-19 treatment.

According to the Sofia Health Inspectorate, the total number of
vaccinated people on the territory of Sofia Municipality exceeds
 86,000. Today, inoculation is ongoing for vaccine takers who
will be members of the polling station commissions in the
upcoming parliamentary elections.

Over the last week, the Sofia police department checked 298
commercial venues. Over 1,400 checks were carried out by the
Sofia Health Inspectorate in commercial venues for wearing face
masks and maintaining social distance. A total of 1,912 checks
were performed to verify if the quarantine is observed.
 
Local restrictions have already been imposed in other
settlements across Bulgaria, following last week's
recommendation by the national coronavirus task force for a
local approach prompted by varying incidence.

NV/MT