Bulgarian leaders in self-isolation after security meeting

Petkov will continue his work remotely, while his duties that require attendance would be taken over by deputy premier Kalina Konstantinova, the government said in a statement. Bulgaria has seen a spike in coronavirus infections in the recent days as the Omicron variant was spreading in the European Union's least vaccinated country.

Bulgaria's prime minister, president, and several senior ministers have gone into precautionary self-isolation after a participant at a security meeting they attended tested positive for the coronavirus, a health official said on Tuesday.

Chief health inspector Angel Kunchev said all of the participants of the consultative National Security Council on Monday were in good health but they would stay in self-isolation after Parliament Speaker Nikola Minchev tested positive for the virus. Along with Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and President Rumen Radev, the meeting was attended by the ministers of interior, defense, and finance, as well as a deputy foreign minister and senior members of main political parties.

"The prime minister will be under quarantine as are the rules," a government official told Reuters. Petkov will continue his work remotely, while his duties that require attendance would be taken over by deputy premier Kalina Konstantinova, the government said in a statement.

Bulgaria has seen a spike in coronavirus infections in recent days as the Omicron variant was spreading in the European Union's least vaccinated country. On Tuesday, the country of 7 million people reported 6,761 new cases, and more than 800 people were taken to hospital. The pandemic has caused 31,672 deaths.

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