Political and social crises to blame for the ‘COVID-19 disaster’ in Bulgaria · Global Voices
Security staff checks COVID-19 passes of visitors to the Mall of Sofia, November 6, 2021. Photo by <PERSON>, used with permission.
One would think that the political crisis, lack of a government, and the holding of the third consecutive parliamentary elections in a year are hard enough situations for Bulgaria, but on November 1, the country with a population of nearly 7 million, hit a tragic new COVID-19 record—over 6,000 new cases and over 300 deaths. Honestly, I, and I'm pretty sure others in the country, don't even know how to describe the failure, tragedy, and stubbornness that led us here.
Bulgaria has the EU’s lowest vaccination rate, while widespread vaccine hesitancy fueled by misinformation and a lackluster awareness campaign comes amid political turmoil. As the COVID crisis unfolds and affects more and more sectors of the economy and society, the Bulgarian state is making a transition from more than a decade of rule by Prime Minister <PERSON> and his Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (Gerb) party. <PERSON> stepped back after nearly a year of anti-corruption protests, marked by police violence and wiretapping of political opponents, and even protesters.
This toxic situation was preceded by impunity scandals linked to the Prosecutor General, <PERSON>, for refusing to investigate a number of Bulgarian politicians and businessmen who were sanctioned by the U.S. government in June under the Magnitsky Act for links to corruption and human rights abuses. The scandal has become one of the main topics dividing the political elite, and while the caretaker government published a list of 33 companies and 21 individuals connected to blacklisted moguls, the judiciary has not yet taken action against them. Incidentally, Bulgaria is the only European Union member state whose citizens are included in this list.
Fast testing of COVID-19 offered to visitors of Mall of Sofia, Nov 6, 2021. Photo by <PERSON>, used with permission.
While Bulgaria initially reacted quickly by taking strong measures against COVID-19 in March 2020, <PERSON>'s subsequent handling of the pandemic has drawn sharp criticism because the country was severely affected during the autumn months after a loosening of restrictions over the summer. The interim ministers appointed by President <PERSON>, with whom <PERSON> has had a long feud, fared no better—the statistics are grim: 3,117 people in Bulgaria who had tested positive for COVID-19 died in October 2021; 100,330 is the number of new cases for one month, the Sofia Globe reported. 739
November can be even harder with all the anti-measures protests going on.
At the time of writing, the whole territory of Bulgaria is already in so-called “dark red zones,” as the cases of COVID-19 infections have passed over 800 per 100,000. A partial lockdown is expected if the number of new cases increases to 1,000/100,000 level, which is already a reality in some of the provinces in the western part of the country, including the capital.
Daily new confirmed COVID-19 deaths per million people, seven-day rolling average for Bulgaria, European Union and Europe. Graph by Our World in Data, CC BY 4.0.
In the background of increasing disinformation and spreading of fake news, as of the beginning of November, there are over 7,000 people hospitalised. In most municipalities, there are no intensive care unit (ICU) beds available. A doctor who works in one of the busiest COVID-19 wards in Sofia told me on October 28:
“Ruslan, I don't know when I will return home – probably not this week.”
While restaurant owners protest against COVID-19 certificates, in Bulgaria's countryside the situation is grim, and there are no available beds in many hospitals.
In the northwestern part of the country, in the provinces of Vidin, Montana, Vratsa, and Lom, there is a lack of hospital staff. Ambulances rushing to regional hospitals can often be seen on the roads. The situation is similar in other parts of Bulgaria. However, the majority of the people are still resisting vaccinations.
My cousin is a doctor near Tarnovo, she's already in her 70's and still working. Yes, Bulgaria needs to get more people vaccinated, the doctors are suffering.
— <PERSON> (@nsc_nana) October 29, 2021
As I mentioned before, the political situation is contributing to the crisis, as the country has been continuously in-between elections for over a year. There is an intensification of fake news and disinformation, including dozens of sham sites and social media accounts using the stolen personal information of medics. Several investigations are underway, with no clear results so far. 739