Hundreds of Bulgarian restaurant and club owners, waiters and bartenders protested on Wednesday in downtown Sofia against the government's decision to keep bistros, diners and cafes closed while easing other coronavirus restrictions.

About 1,500 people, clanging empty pots in freezing temperatures demonstrated in front of government buildings, urging Prime Minister Boyko Borissov to reconsider the closure of their outlets, to allow them to work and pay them delayed compensation.

Bulgaria, which has seen a fall in the number of coronavirus infections, has opted to reopen secondary schools, shopping malls and gyms from February, but decided to keep restaurants and cafes closed for a month longer.

Nightclubs may be allowed to open from the middle of March, if infection levels remain low, officials have said.

To help the struggling businesses, the government has allowed restaurants to offer take-away food. In late December it allowed diners at hotels to work at 50% of their capacity to help salvage some winter tourism revenues./Reuters

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