Bulgaria to make all incoming travellers take COVID-19 tests

All passengers arriving in Bulgaria will now have to provide proof of the negative COVID-19 test, as the country tries to curb the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus, the country's Health Minister Kostadin Angelov said on Monday.

"Today we will take measures to issue a decree according to which all citizens arriving in Bulgaria, including those from the EU countries, will have to take a coronavirus test. This way, we want to protect the country and our citizens from the threat of the new COVID-19 strain," Angelov said, as cited in the statement published on the ministry's website.

On Friday, the minister said that nearly 2 million citizens were expected to be vaccinated against the coronavirus in 2021. Bulgaria is participating in six preliminary agreements on the purchase of over 13 million doses of the vaccine, which should be enough to vaccinate the country's entire population.

A mass vaccination campaign with the use of the Pfizer vaccine in Bulgaria, as elsewhere within the EU, was launched on December 27. In addition to that, Bulgaria received the first batch of Moderna's vaccine earlier in January. So far, 26,143 people have received shots.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria has confirmed over 214,000 COVID-19 cases, including 8,811 fatalities. (/Sputnik)

( With inputs from ANI )