The Health Ministry of Bulgaria recorded 12,399 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours, which further brings the toll of the confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus to 903,676.
On January 19, 2022, a total of 11,181 cases was recorded due to COVID-19.
Meanwhile, 73 more Covid related deaths and 2,688 more recoveries were recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 32,869 and 653,678, respectively.
The number of active Covid cases in Bulgaria surged to 2,17,129, a record high since the onset of the pandemic and more than double since January 2, when the first Omicron cases were confirmed in the country.
At the same time, despite official efforts to persuade people to get vaccinated against Covid, only 10,667 doses were administered in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of administered vaccines to 4.11 million.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, only 28.7 percent of Bulgaria’s population has been fully vaccinated, ranking last in the European Union.
The Czech Republic registered record new coronavirus cases, reaching almost 40,000. The Polish Government reported 53,420 new COVID-19 cases.
Polish health ministry spokesman told a news conference
“We have to be prepared for a further increase in cases above 60,000”.
Hungary, a country of 10 million, reached more than 20,000 new daily coronavirus cases, while Romania and Bulgaria, the EU’s least vaccinated countries, also reported record high cases.
However, countries have yet to set stricter and more sweeping restrictions, such as mandatory lockdowns, unlike during earlier waves of the pandemic in 2020-21 when imposed stringent measures.
The World Health Organization said on January 12 that Omicron causes less severe illness than earlier variants of the coronavirus, but that will still consider as a “dangerous virus”, especially for those who are not vaccinated.
