Sofia, January 3 (BTA) - The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bulgaria reached 749,540, after 12,855 tests identified 1,356 new infections on Sunday, according to data posted on https://coronavirus.bg/. The test positivity rate now stands at 10.55 per cent.

The active cases are 105,485. Currently, the hospitalized patients number 4,168, including 450 in intensive care.

Another 519 COVID-19 patients have recovered over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 613,028.

Forty-four fatalities were reported (90.91 per cent unvaccinated), and the death toll now adds up to 31,027.

With 3,703 new inoculations over the last 24 hours, 3,707,808 vaccine doses have been administered so far.

In a Nova TV interview Sunday, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said that a campaign against false certificates is being launched. The Interior Ministry is to check each case of COVID-19 fatality who has been vaccinated or has been recorded as such. Cases of patients claiming to have been vaccinated but have been hospitalized or have died will also be checked. After that the Interior Ministry will check who has issued the certificate of the concrete patient.

Hospitals still have hospital bed capacity, which determines the further measures, Petkov said. Lockdown should be the most extreme possible solution, in his opinion. If the country succeeds in vaccinating another 300,000 that could prove the difference between a very serious crisis and passing through yeat another wave without a lockdown, the Prime Minister said.