The test positivity rate now stands at 7.1 per cent
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bulgaria reached 446,698, after 22,480 tests identified 1,601 new infections on Wednesday, compared to 1,901 on Tuesday. The test positivity rate now stands at 7.1 per cent, BTA reported.
Sofia City Region tops the list of new cases with 296 positive tests, followed by Plovdiv Region with 163, Burgas with 150 and Varna with 122. Vidin Region had just eight cases.
The active cases are 24,793. Currently, the hospitalized patients number 2,985, including 262 in intensive care.
Another 574 patients have recovered over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 403,292.
Forty-eight fatalities were reported, compared to 33 on Tuesday, and the death toll now adds up to 18,613.
With 13,800 new inoculations over the last 24 hours, 2,256,350 vaccine doses have been administered so far and 1,136,584 people are fully vaccinated.
Chief State Health Inspector Angel Kunchev said that the fourth COVID wave in Bulgaria would peak in September, but that some regions could see the peak even in late August.
"While the severity of the Delta variant is milder, more people will be infected as it is highly transmissible", he said for NOVA.
When the infection rate exceeds 300 per 100,000 in the cities and towns, restrictions will be imposed across the country, which must be linked promptly to business support measures, said Kunchev.
He again stressed the effectiveness of the COVID vaccines by saying that 93.8 per cent of all newly infected people between August 18 and 23 were not vaccinated.
