The COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Bulgaria when the country's first cases, a 27-year-old man from Pleven and a 75-year-old woman from Gabrovo, were confirmed on 8 March 2020. Neither of the two had traveled to areas with known coronavirus cases. The man tested positive for the virus after being hospitalized for a respiratory infection, and authorities announced plans to test several people who were in contact with the two individuals. Two other samples in Pleven and Gabrovo were positive on 8 March. Patient zero remains unknown.
After the number of patients in the country had reached 23, the Bulgarian Parliament voted unanimously to declare a state of emergency from 13 March until 13 April. A 14-day preventive house quarantine was introduced for citizens who had been in contact with a COVID-19 patient or had returned from an overseas region with a high number of cases. For patients tested positive for the virus, a 21-day house quarantine was introduced. This time span was counted from the day a subsequent test came out negative after they had been treated in a hospital or at home. After the World Health Organization (WHO) had established that COVID-19 was more resilient than the initial data was showing, the National Crisis-management Staff increased the recovery house quarantine by a week to 28 days. With the continuing increase of COVID-19 cases on a daily basis, the Bulgarian government requested on 1 April that Parliament extend the state of emergency by one month until 13 May.
As of 5 February 2023, a total of 4,612,386 vaccine doses have been administered.
Background A National Crisis-management Staff was formed by the Bulgarian government on 5 March to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The government appointed Major general Vencislav Mutafchiyski as the chairman of the Staff. Mutafchiyski was the director of the Military Medical Academy and the most senior medical officer of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. He is an abdomen (stomach) surgeon and epidemiology is not among his specialties. The MMA combines the military medical services of the country in their entirety with several hospitals in the capital Sofia and around the country. At the same time it is one of the country's leading medical institutions and possesses large medical treatment capacity and know-how. The Staff fulfilled a direct operational role in the management of the crisis and its decisions were implemented through executive orders of Bulgaria's Prime Minister and the country's Minister of Health.
On 23 March a separate Medical Council for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic was appointed by the Prime Minister. The council was chaired by Kosta Kostov, a leading pulmonary disease expert. The council's mission was to provide the government with complementary analysis and action proposals and the general public with professional guidance and information. Unlike the National Crisis-management Staff, which was a formal national institution with executive power and tasks, the council had mostly a knowledge-based advisory role. On 4 April the Medical Council dispersed, having achieved its purpose, according to its chairman.
Timeline February Limited border health monitoring was introduced in February 2020.
March 8 March On 8 March 2020, Bulgaria confirmed its first two cases, a 27-year-old man from Pleven and a 75-year-old woman from Gabrovo. Neither of the two reported having traveled to areas with known coronavirus cases. The man tested positive for the virus after being hospitalized for a respiratory infection, and authorities announced plans to test several people who were in contact with the two individuals. Two other samples in Pleven and Gabrovo were found positive on 8 March. Patient zero remains unknown.
On the same day, the hospital in Gabrovo requested additional personnel from other hospitals in the country, as it only had three communicable diseases specialists. All of its internal medicine specialists have been quarantined after one of the four initial cases was confirmed to be a nurse at the hospital. The government issued a nationwide ban on closed-door public events. The origin of the outbreak remains unknown, and the Ministry of Interior is tracking down all individuals who have been in contact with the patients. As of 8 March 254 suspected cases were under quarantine across the country.
10 March
Two additional cases were confirmed in Sofia on 10 March 2020: a 74-year-old man and his 66-year-old wife. Both have arrived from Lom two weeks prior to admission. The woman died on the next day, becoming the first COVID-19 death in the country.
11 March A suspected case of a 33-year-old man was reported by the Saint George Hospital in Plovdiv on 11 March. The same day, a 40-year-old woman in Varna showed COVID-19 symptoms on CT scan, although regional health authorities have not yet confirmed the case.
12 March By 12 March, the number of cases had increased to 23, most of them in Sofia. Many of these had been in contact with the elderly couple admitted to the Pirogov Hospital on 10 March.
13 March On 13 March, after 16 reported cases in one day, Bulgaria declared a state of emergency for one month until 13 April. Schools, shopping centres, cinemas, restaurants, and other places of business were closed. All sports events were suspended. Only supermarkets, food markets, pharmacies, banks and gas stations remain open. Additionally, all arrivals from Italy, Iran, Spain, China and South Korea were placed under a mandatory 14-day quarantine. There were 13 breaches of quarantine; patients involved were returned to treatment facilities and warned of repercussions, including fines and prison sentences.
14 March On 14 March, a second death and a third case in Pleven were reported. The second death from the virus was the 74-year-old husband of the first victim.Почина 74-годишният пациент на "Пирогов", при който беше потвърден COVID-19 www.mh.government.bg accessed 14 March 2020 Late in the evening on 31 March a member of parliament was tested positive for the virus. All MPs were urgently tested on the following day. If some of them are also tested positive, the Parliament will be adjourned. Options for the MPs to continue their legislative work (including voting) online from home under isolation are being explored.
15 March The number of confirmed cases in Bulgaria rose to 51 on 15 March. A total of 83 tests were done at the Military Medical Academy, of which six were positive, and 51 were processed at the National Reference Laboratory, of which two were positive. In Varna, one test out of 12 samples proved positive.
16 March The Ministry of Health announced that citizens from a number of countries would be prohibited from entering Bulgaria starting 00:00 on 18 March. These are China, Iran, Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Spain, Italy, South Korea, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Additionally, sanitary control units will be established on some border crossings with Romania, Greece, Serbia and North Macedonia. The number of total cases rose to 62, including two British citizens vacationing in Bansko.
17 March 81 cases were reported, several linked to an outbreak in Bansko. None of the patients were in critical condition.
18 March The total number of cases increased to 94 by 18 March, with new cases appearing in Smolyan, Veliko Tarnovo and Pernik among recent arrivals from outside the country. The previous day, Bansko became the first town in the country to be put under quarantine.
19 March On 19 March the cases rose to 105 and an 80-year-old woman, who recently had a stroke, died from COVID-19 on the same day, making her the third death from the disease in Bulgaria. Elsewhere, a 78-year-old Bulgarian citizen died from COVID-19 while visiting family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The woman, a choir conductor in Sofia, was uninsured and refused to seek medical attention.
20 March The total number of cases increased to 127 and the first recovery occurred.
21 March The number of cases increased to 142 by noon, and three patients had recovered. Two cities, Dobrich and Shumen, confirmed their first cases, the latter related to the Bansko cluster. There are 84 male and 58 female patients, the youngest being 4 years old, and the oldest 81 years old. More than 5,000 tests had been carried out, and an additional 10,000 tests would be made available at short notice.
24 March The cases increased to 218 and the first case in Stara Zagora province was confirmed. A man from the town of Kazanlak was admitted in the Infectious unit in the hospital in Stara Zagora. He is believed to be 60 years old and returned from France on 14 March.
25 March The number of cases increased to 242 by the end of the day, with the city of Sliven reporting its first confirmed case. 16 new cases with no relation between them were registered in Sofia, with some being medical staff from a local hospital. Two new cases were confirmed in Blagoevgrad, two in Plovdiv and one in Pleven. Two of the patients who were in critical condition were stabilized but remain "in stable but severe condition". One recovered completely, bringing the number of total recoveries to 5.
26 March A total of 22 new cases were reported, bringing the overall number to 264. The coronavirus was registered for the first time in Kardzhali and Haskovo. 15 of the newly confirmed cases were in Sofia, 2 in Smolyan, one in Pleven, one in Veliko Tarnovo and one in Varna. Two people were admitted to hospital in critical condition, while three new patients recovered, bringing the number of recovered to 8. Three soldiers were confirmed to be infected – two were stationed in Kosovo and were immediately brought back to Sofia, and the other contracted the virus in Romania, where he was hospitalized.
27 March 29 new cases were registered, with the total number reaching 293. From these, 17 were in Sofia, 5 in Plovdiv, 3 in Burgas, and one each in Varna, Kyustendil, Sliven and Pazardzhik. At least 93 people remained hospitalized, with 53 in Sofia alone.
28 March The total number of cases reached 331, an increase of 38 from the previous day. The new cases included 19 in Sofia, 5 in Blagoevgrad, 4 in Burgas, 3 in Varna, 2 each in Kardzhali, Plovdiv and Shumen, and 1 in Smolyan. Four new deaths were also reported, with two occurring in Blagoevgrad and one each in Kyustendil and Sofia. The cases in Blagoevgrad, a mother and her daughter, were initially refused admission to the local hospital despite visible symptoms and had to request testing at a private lab; by the time the results came out as positive, the patients' condition had deteriorated significantly. They were eventually admitted and sent to intensive care, but both died shortly after.
29 March A total of 15 new cases were reported, with 8 in Sofia, 3 in Plovdiv, and one each in Kardzhali, Sliven, Smolyan and Varna. Three new recoveries were also announced, while the number of deaths rose to 8 after a 51-year-old woman died in the Blagoevgrad hospital, one day after her mother had died from the virus. The Ministry of Health announced that 125 out of 324 active cases remain hospitalized, with 13 of those in serious condition. The total number of tests performed exceeded 7,000, with 276 done on 29 March alone.
30 March Thirteen new cases were reported, with seven in Sofia and one each in Blagoevgrad, Kardzhali, Montana, Pleven, Plovdiv and Sliven, for a total of 359 cases. 113 patients remained hospitalized, with 13 in serious condition. Around 56% of all those infected so far were male versus 44% female, with a median age of 45. The total number of recoveries rose to 17.
31 March