MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th April, 2020) The Bulgarian government decided to close the capital of Sofia for arriving and leaving motor vehicles to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Minister of Health Kiril Ananiev said.
The relevant decree was supported on late Thursday by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov following the relevant advice of Ananiev and head of the coronavirus response center Ventsislav Mutafchiyski, who said that many people tried to leave Sofia where most COVID-19 cases had been registered. The response center expressed fear that the exodus of people from the capital could result in outbreaks of the disease in other parts of the country.
"Everything told by General Mutafchiyski urges me to issue a decree on suspending the entrance and the exit to and from Sofia for all motor vehicles, starting from the midnight, April 17 [21:00 GMT, Thursday], until further notification," Ananiev said, as quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio broadcaster.
Cargo shipments, vehicles of emergency services and transport for employees of Sofia's enterprises will be excluded from the ban.
The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11. To date, more than 2.1 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 142,000 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Bulgaria has confirmed 783 COVID-19 cases so far, with 37 fatalities.
