Sofia, January 7 (BTA) - During Question Time in Parliament on Friday, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said that COVID vaccination will not be made mandatory in Bulgaria and that he is not afraid of protests against the COVID green certificate. "When the crisis passes and we have vaccinated population, the COVID pass will become unnecessary," he said.

Commenting the matter for the press in the corridors of Parliament, the Prime Minister added that the green ceritificate can be scrapped when the level of vaccination reaches 70 per cent of the population.

Referring to the preliminary results of the 2021 national census the National Statistical Institute announced on Thursday and which show that the Bulgarian population has shrunk by 800,000 over the past ten years, Petkov said that the census led to an increase in the vaccination rate "in a bad way". As the population declined, the vaccination rate increased to close to 35 per cent. That rate also excludes children.

The PM noted that the coronavirus statistics of the past weeks once again proves the need of vaccination.

The announcement of the government stimuli for the most vulnerable social group, retirees, each of whom will receive 75 leva for getting a coronavirus vaccine, has driven up the number of vaccinated people by more than 92,000 in the past three days alone, said Petkov.

Referring to the threats of the Vazrazhdane party to organize a protest rally for abolishing the green certificates, he said: "We are not afraid of protest rallies. Any Bulgarian who is against our policies, should express their opinion," Petkov said. RY/ZH/LN