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Agence France-Presse

Bulgaria said on Saturday it was days away from sending coronavirus patients abroad as a vicious fourth wave overwhelms its health system and forces neighbouring Romania to ramp up restrictions.
Health Minister Stoycho Katsarov told the Nova TV channel that if the current rate of infections was not stemmed in 10 to 15 days there would be “enormous problems”.
“Our capacity in terms of staff and ventilators has been practically exhausted, we will have to seek help from abroad,” he said.
“Talks are under way with the EU to transfer patients to other countries if it comes to that.”

Katsarov has also warned a lockdown cannot be ruled out.
Despite the introduction of a health pass for places such as restaurants and shopping centres, experts say the current wave could lead to infections leaping from around 5,000 a day to 9,000 a day in two weeks in the country of 6.9 million.
Bulgaria has suffered one of the world’s highest death rates with the total standing at almost 23,000 people.
Over the past year Bulgaria has faced a protracted political crisis alongside the pandemic, with the third parliamentary election this year expected to take place next month.
Bulgaria and neighbouring Romania together have the lowest vaccination rates in the EU, with low take-up blamed on the widespread circulation of conspiracy theories and mistrust of the authorities.
British PM Boris Johnson says Plan B coronavirus curbs ‘not on the cards’ despite surge in cases
Only 24 per cent of Bulgarians have been fully vaccinated while in Romania the figure is barely 33 per cent.
Romania is bringing in harsher measures this Monday to try to bring infections under control.
The country of just over 19 million has now recorded in excess of 1.5 million cases, with more than 15,000 new infections recorded on Saturday.
More than 44,000 people in Romania have died after contracting the virus and the government has had to transfer around 30 patients to neighbouring Hungary as its threadbare health care system buckles.
As of Monday, face masks will be compulsory across the country and gatherings such as weddings and conferences will be banned for 30 days.


Spaces such as gyms, shopping centres and restaurants will require a health pass for entry, while unvaccinated people will face a 10pm curfew.
The one-week school holiday which begins on Monday has also been extended for seven days.
Controversially, church services have been exempted from the need for attendees to provide proof of vaccination or recovery.
Coronavirus: New Zealand sets 90 per cent vaccine target to end lockdown; Melbourne reopens with cheers
There are signs that the introduction of health passes in both countries has pushed some to get the jab.
The Romanian government announced on Friday that 130,000 Romanians had headed to vaccination centres in the past 24 hours, including a record 86,000 people getting their first shot.
Vaccination centres in Bulgaria also reported a surge in take-up after the introduction of the health pass was announced on Tuesday, with three times as many people getting jabbed on Friday as compared with the previous week.


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Coronavirus pandemic

Crisis-hit Bulgaria may send coronavirus patients abroad as fourth wave overwhelms health system

Medical staff tend to a coronavirus patient in the intensive care unit of Pirogov hospital in Sofia, Bulgaria. Photo: Reuters

Patients are pictured at the COVID-19 ward of St Anna hospital in Sofia, Bulgaria, October 19, 2021. Picture taken October 19, 2021. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

British PM Boris Johnson says Plan B coronavirus curbs ‘not on the cards’ despite surge in cases

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks to the media as he visits a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Little Venice Sports Centre in London on October 22. Photo: AFP

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R) speaks to staff at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Little Venice Sports Centre in London on October 22, 2021. - Daily virus cases in the UK on October 22 soared to over 50,000 a day for the first time since July but the government again resisted calls to reimpose restrictions. The UK has administered two vaccine doses to 79 percent of those aged 12 and over and the number of hospitalisations remains relatively low. It is pushing for all those not inoculated to get the vaccine and urging the over-50s and clinically vulnerable to take up the offer of a third booster vaccine as well as get flu jabs. (Photo by Matt Dunham / POOL / AFP)

Coronavirus: Melbourne prepares to exit world’s longest lockdown; India hits 1 billion vaccine doses

Volunteers decorate a vaccination centre to celebrate India administering its billionth Covid-19 shot at a health centre in New Delhi on Thursday. Photo: AFP

The Royal Arcade shopping precinct in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: EPA-EFE

Coronavirus: Singapore nears 4,000 daily cases, extends curbs

Cyclists wearing faces masks pass near the Merlion statue in Singapore. Photo: AP

People visit a pop-up vaccination site, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021, in suburban Auckland, New Zealand. New Zealand reported its highest number of new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began Tuesday as an outbreak in the largest city of Auckland continued to spread. (Michael Craig/New Zealand Herald via AP)

People walk down a deserted street in Melbourne's Chinatown on October 19, 2021 as the city prepares to lift some restrictions later in the week after enduring it's sixth lockdown since the start of the pandemic. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)

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‘Talks are under way with the EU to transfer patients to other countries if it comes to that,’ said Health Minister Stoycho Katsarov
Bulgaria has suffered one of the world’s highest coronavirus death rates with the total standing at almost 23,000 people



‘Talks are under way with the EU to transfer patients to other countries if it comes to that,’ said Health Minister Stoycho Katsarov.


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Coronavirus vaccine