Bulgaria aims to force a COVID19 Health Pass for indoor places, like restaurants, cinemas, gyms and malls.
The health minister said on Tuesday that the country is struggling with the increasing number of COVID19 infections.
People originally thought the new “Green certificate” health pass would facilitate travel in the EU states.
The Health Pass is a digital or paper certificate, which proves whether someone had the vaccinated, tested negative or recently recovered.
Interim Health Minister Stoicho Katsarov said the pass will be effective as of October 21.
The pass will apply to all indoor public spaces, including cafes, hotels, concert halls, museums and swimming pools.
“The number of new infections and deaths is rising, which forces us to impose additional measures,” he said.
“All activities indoors require a green certificate,” he appealed to vaccine-skeptical Bulgarians.
Bulgaria has had the highest death rate in the EU within the past two weeks. It also has the lowest vaccination rate in the bloc.
Only a quarter of the seven-million Bulgarian population has had the first shot, far below the EU average of ~80%.
It reported on Tuesday 4,979 new infections and 214 deaths in the past 24 hours, which is the highest toll since late March.
All medical personnel and careworkers at homes must show the health pass in order to work, Katsarov said.
Authorities will not force it on teachers. Schools in regions where over 750 per 100K are infected will have to switch to online schooling.
Katsarov said that the failure to limit the virus spread could be a start for tougher restrictions or full lockdown.
