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72 I Southeast Europe bne February 2022
Spread of Omicron pushes coronavirus infections to all-time highs in parts
of Southeast Europe
Denitsa Koseva in Sofia
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is spreading across Southeast Europe where the number of new cases is rising sharply, reaching all- time highs in some countries. The situation is worsened by the low vaccination rate.
In Bulgaria, the authorities reported 6,766 new cases of coronavirus in 24 hours on January 6, almost reaching the peak of the previous wave of
the pandemic in the autumn. A day earlier, the new cases stood at 6,252. The figures were significantly higher compared to the previous days when new cases were around or below 2,000 per day.
The country’s health ministry noted that more than 70% of all new cases
www.bne.eu
Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people
7-day rolling average. Due to limited testing, the number of confirmed cases is lower than the true numberof infections.
were among people who have not been vaccinated against coronavirus.
Despite the surging numbers, so far the authorities do not intend to tighten restrictions within the country and are
trying to persuade people to vaccinate. However, the restrictions for entry in
the country are being tightened as of January 7. People coming from countries that are in the red COVID-19 zone can enter Bulgaria if they have a green