Bulgaria Re-opens Night Clubs As Virus Infections Surge

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Bulgaria re-opens night clubs as virus infections surge

Sofia, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Jul, 2020 ) :Night clubs and discos in Bulgaria will be allowed to re-open, the health ministry announced on Sunday, just three days after ordering all inside bars shut and despite a continuing rise in coronavirus cases in the country.

A health ministry order said that starting Monday all discos, piano bars, night clubs and bars can re-open provided that they let in no more than one person per square metre in their inside and open-air spaces.

The venues were ordered shut on Thursday after a surge in infections with the novel coronavirus, with open-air places allowed to operate at half their usual capacity.

The ministry also lifted on Sunday a limit of 30 attendees at weddings, baptisms and school leavers' celebrations held both outside and inside, provided that people keep a distance of 1.5 metres and observe strict disinfection rules.

Until recently, Bulgaria had weathered the coronavirus pandemic well but easing lockdown measures before most other European countries and disregard for distancing measures and the wearing of masks, even if they are still obligatory inside, led to a surge in infections over the past several weeks.

From an average of about 30 new infections a day in early June, the country registered a record of 330 new infections on Friday, followed by 292 on Saturday and 211 on Sunday.

The total number of infections reached 7,175 on Sunday, including 267 deaths and 3,311 recovered.

Health officials meanwhile sounded the alarm over a rising number of patients needing hospital treatment and intensive care and the risk of the virus spreading faster, amid a wave of snowballing anti-government street protests in the capital Sofia this week that gathered thousands.