The Ministry of Tourism published on their website a supplemented version of the instructions for the activity of hotels and restaurants in the conditions after the state of emergency in our country due to the pandemic of COVID-19.

The updated document includes instructions for the operation of the closed parts of the facilities, which according to the order of the Minister of Health - Kiril Ananiev will be able to reopen from June 1, 2020. The text has been approved by Minister Nikolina Angelkova and agreed with the Ministry of Health, and the part with catering in restaurants and hotels was agreed with the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency.

The functioning (indoor and outdoor areas) of restaurants, fast food establishments, drinking establishments, coffee shops, cocktail bars, coffee bars, bar-congress centers, bar-sports centers is allowed ( such as pool, tennis, fitness, bowling) etc.), lobby bars, bar clubs, bar casinos and bar varieties. Visits to discos, piano bars and night bars are not allowed until the epidemic situation in the country changes and their use is authorized by the competent authority.

In catering and entertainment establishments, personal protective equipment (masks / helmets and gloves) remains mandatory for staff, not customers. The staff must comply with the "Requirements for business operators managing catering establishments with open-air retail space", prepared by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency and agreed by the Minister of Health, published on their websites.

With regard to tables, seating and the organization of the meal itself, it is recommended that the food be served if possible. Two options for feeding a buffet are allowed: when the food is arranged on a buffet behind a transparent barrier and its provision is carried out by an employee equipped with personal protective equipment; when the food is arranged at a buffet in self-service by the customer, it will be done in compliance with the distance between customers and protection of food from secondary contamination through the use of gloves.

The arrangement of the tables in a way providing a distance of not less than 1.5 m between them and with not more than 4 persons per table or per family should also be in accordance with the instructions of the Minister of Health. The document specifies that family hotels and guest houses are not obliged to present a contract with a medical service facility. In case of suspicion of coronavirus infection in a guest at the site, they must strictly follow the instructions and recommendations of medical professionals from the RHI or the Center for Emergency Medical Care.

The instructions also reflect the possibilities for using indoor halls for classes, halls for performances, a place for fun games and others in compliance with the requirements for physical distance. The guidelines for accommodation and catering establishments are based on the recommendations of the Ministry of Health according to the rules of the World Health Organization and the European Center for Infection Prevention and Control, as well as on the EU guidelines for gradual resumption of tourist services and sanitary protocols in hotels and restaurant sectors, announced by the COVID-19 Commission on 13 May 2020.

Exactly on this date, the Ministry of Tourism posted on its website detailed instructions for the operation of hotels and restaurants with open spaces. It described in detail the measures for protection of the staff and visitors of these sites, the sanitary-hygienic and other steps for protection against the coronavirus. The rules set out in the document are in the nature of guidelines for the operation of accommodation and catering establishments adjacent to them or on their own. The tourist sites are different in their territorial location, purpose and functions, design, operation and management, therefore the adaptations should be made individually, but in such a way as to correspond to the instructions, which are subject to updating according to the epidemic situation.

You can find the instructions here: http://www.tourism.government.bg/sites/tourism.government.bg/files/uploads/ukazaniya_versiya_3_na_mn_i_zhr-29052020.pdf