March 9 (SeeNews) - The coronavirus outbreak in Europe will hamper the operations of Bulgarian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as those of big industrial companies, economy minister Emil Karanikolov said on Monday.
Bulgaria's health ministry said over the weekend that it has confirmed the first four cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country - two men in the city of Pleven and two women in the city of Gabrovo.
The negative effect on Bulgaria's tourism and transport sectors can already be noticed, Karanikolov said in a video file published by local NovaTV.
The problem comes with the spreading of the virus in the EU, especially in Bulgaria's major trading partners in the union such as Italy, Germany, France and Greece, the economy minister noted.
According to Karanikolov, Bulgaria tackles the coronavirus outbreak on its territory as any other country but if there is a peak in reported cases the authorities will introduce tougher restrictions.
Last week, French credit insurance company Euler Hermes advised that Bulgarian companies have to be cautious when signing deals with partners in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Italy.