New restrictive measures against the coronavirus in Bulgaria come into force today

As of September 7th, with an order by the Minister of Health new anti-epidemic measures are introduced on the territory of Bulgaria. They are as follows:

1. Conducting in-person group lessons in language, educational and other training centers is allowed indoors with no more than 10 people with protective masks and a distance of at least 1.5m.
2. Visits to children’s centers, clubs and others providing organized group services for children shall be suspended.
3. Congresses, conferences, seminars, symposia, trainings, etc. are allowed when using not more than 30% of the capacity of the room and with up to 30 participants, observing physical distance and wearing protective masks.
4. The holding of team buildings and other organized group events of such nature in labor collectives is suspended.
5. The holding of competitions and examinations is allowed when using not more than 30% of the capacity of the room, with up to 30 participants, observing a physical distance of at least 1.5 m and wearing protective masks.
6. The holding of all mass events in which the attendees are not organized with certain seats and the entrance (participation) is unlimited is suspended.
7. Visits to cinemas, theaters, circus performances, concerts and other indoor performances are allowed when using no more than 50% of the capacity of the premises, occupying seats with a distance and wearing protective masks.
8. Visits to museums and galleries are organized by allowing no more than 1 person per 8 square meters, subject to physical distance and wearing protective masks.
9. Visits to centers, schools and other sites for dance and music are allowed when using no more than 30% of the capacity of the premises and with up to 10 people in a room.
10. The holding of sports competitions with a professional nature indoors is allowed without an audience.
11. The holding of sports competitions of a professional nature outdoors is allowed with an audience when occupying no more than 30% of the capacity, occupying every third seat and wearing protective masks.
12. Visits to fitness centers are allowed when using no more than 30% of the capacity of each room and observing physical distance and wearing a protective mask by staff.
13. Visits to sports halls and clubs, swimming pools and complexes are allowed only for individual sports with the use of no more than 30% of their capacity and observance of a physical distance of at least 1.5 m. Indoor team sports are suspended, with the exception of trainings and competitions for registered professional athletes.
14. Visits to balneotherapy, SPA and wellness centers are allowed when using 30% of their capacity, observing physical distance, wearing protective face masks for services that allow their use, and creating a schedule for individual use of the services.
15. Visits to food and entertainment establishments, gambling halls and casinos are allowed only in the time interval from 7:00h to 23:00h , observing a distance of 1.5 m between the tables, admission of no more than 6 people at one table and wearing protective masks by the staff.
16. The holding of gatherings of a private nature is allowed with the participation of no more than 30 people indoors and 60 people outdoors.
17. Owners or managers of commercial, administrative or other sites, providing services to the citizens, shall create an organization for control of the number of clients in the respective site, not allowing more than 1 person per 8 sq. m.
18. At markets, marketplaces, bazaars and exhibitions an organization for one-way traffic shall be established, providing control of the entering people and admission of no more than 1 person per 8 sq. m. and wearing of a protective mask.

The introduced anti-epidemic measures under points 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, 12 and 13 may not be applied if 100% of the staff have been vaccinated or have suffered from COVID-19, or have had a negative result from a pre-entry test. Or if the manager of the site/organizer of the event has made a decision and has created the necessary organization for admission only of people who have been vaccinated or have already had COVID-19, certified by valid vaccination or disease documents, or have tested negative to PCR or a rapid antigen test before entering. The order is valid until 31.10.2021.