Associations of restaurants and the tourism industry are organizing a national protest today under the motto: "Everyone TOGETHER! For health, work, future, security! ”

The protest is against the health measures of the caretaker government, which according to business representatives are inadequate, and the system for applying green certificates is discriminatory and, in addition to not solving the problems of the health crisis, deepens the economic one.

In Sofia, the demonstration will begin at 3 pm on Orlov Most.

In Plovdiv, the protest of owners and employees of restaurants will block one of the busiest intersections in the center - the one near Banya Starinna.

A protest march against the requirement for a green certificate is also expected in Burgas at 5.30 pm Late yesterday, nearly 80 people joined the march in the city.

In Pleven, the protest march is planned for 15 hours from Stefan Stambolov Square to the building of the district administration.

Ognyan Georgiev has four restaurants and 50 staff members. He is the regional coordinator of the Bulgarian Association of Restaurants in Pleven.

"In principle, we are not against the green certificate. We are against the way they introduced it - with 20% of those vaccinated, introducing a green certificate means that you are killing the economy. We want people with antibodies to receive a green certificate, as in Austria, for example, we want antigen tests to be really free, and most importantly - we want, if we introduce this certificate, it will be valid for everyone," said Ognyan Georgiev.

In Blagoevgrad, a demonstration of those affected by the anti-epidemic measures was organized in front of the building of the regional health inspection at 3 p.m.

In Veliko Tarnovo, a protest march of restaurateurs and businesses affected by the green certificate will block traffic from 3 pm to 6 pm from the Mother Bulgaria monument to the roundabout next to the regional hospital.

In Lovech for the second day in a row the Association of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs organized a protest in front of the district administration building. Representatives of other affected industries and citizens are expected to join the protest, which begins at 3 p.m.

Protests against the requirement for a green certificate are also planned in Veliko Tarnovo, Sliven and Yambol.

Richard Alibegov, chairman of the Alliance of the Tourism Industry in Bulgaria, said:

"In Sofia - 80% drop in turnover, in the province it reaches 90. Now colleagues will close en masse, employees are being fired. In Sofia only in the first 3 days only in our association there are 1300 applications for leaving by employees. There is absolutely no work, people are very worried. The experiment that our country is doing with the economy has, of course, failed. Abroad, they introduced the certificate with 60% vaccination. They did not accept the proposals of business, which would save little by little the economy - to accept antibodies and tests to be free, which Europe pays for anyway, because throughout Europe these first tests are free, taken by the EU.

Tourism organizations will also express their dissatisfaction in Varna, Plovdiv, Burgas and Targovishte.

The Retail Centers Association will not participate in the national protest against the introduction of the green certificate. Today, they will meet with representatives of the Ministry of Health to clarify issues regarding liability for identified violators without green certificates in shopping malls. This was announced in the program "Before All" on the program "Horizon" Manol Goygadzhiev - Chairman of the Association of Retail Centers.

/BNR