Depressed Bulgarian Town Sees Surge in Coronavirus Cases

Vidin in Bulgaria's economically depressed north-west has seen a rise in recent COVID-19 cases, with the local hospital and a Roma neighbourhood being the worst affected.

The St Petka hospital in Vidin is experiencing major struggles as it has recently become a COVID-19 hotspot itself. Some 44 staffers have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in the hospital, which recently went through a full disinfection, the authorities said on Monday. This makes the facility the hospital with most infected medical staff in the country.

Currently, there are 170 cases of coronavirus in the town and its nearby villages, which are together home to some 63,000 people. Both hospitals in Vidin are close to full when it comes to accepting new patients, the authorities have reported.

The surge of cases in Vidin also resulted in the Roma neighbourhood of Nov Pyt [New road] being put under quarantine on Monday, Bulgarian National Radio reported. Town governor Dimitar Ivanov said over 200 people there are being closely monitored after coming in close contact with 11 members of the local Roma community who tested positive on Friday.  So far, there are 70 recent cases of infection in the neighbourhood.

Similar, sometimes controversial, quarantine measures were imposed in Roma districts in Dupnica, Yambol and Sofia.

The arrival of COVID-19 has added to the severe economic problems facing the Vidin region, the poorest in the EU and one long associated with worrying demographic trends, as made evident in a recent BIRN report on depopulation in the area.

In the rest of Bulgaria, COVID-19 appears to on the wane. Some 1,981 people were diagnosed since the start of the pandemic, 385 of whom remain in hospital. According to the National Operational Headquarters,...