site.btaMinister: Refusal to Take Medical Waste Poses Huge Risk of Epidemic

“There is a huge risk of an epidemic and the Health Ministry and epidemiologists should at least be consulted,“ said Health Minister Silvi Kirilov on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the Sofia Municipality said that the municipal waste treatment plant will stop taking waste from hospitals after it was found that household waste has been mixed with hazardous medical waste.

“At 15:53 pm, we were notified by the Municipality that the removal of household and hazardous waste from hospitals will be suspended. This is an ill-considered decision, because in 2024, 700,000 citizens were treated in the capital's health care facilities,” Minister Kirilov added. “In addition, Sofia has a population of about two million and such an action has an extremely huge impact on the epidemic situation of the city and hospitals in particular. “

“An interdepartmental group will be set up to analyze the regulatory framework and, according to the analysis drastic measures will be taken to regulate this process,” Minister Kirilov added.