How Associate Professor Mangarov spent his first day as head of the COVID clinic

Infectious disease specialist admits patients wearing only an apron and mask, not even wearing gloves

The fiercest opponent of measures against COVID-19 in our country, Associate Prof. Atanas Mangarov, became the head of the clinic where all coronavirus patients are treated at the Infectious Diseases Hospital. This was announced today by the Minister of Health, Prof. Kostadin Angelov.

“The proposal came from Minister Angelov. He contacted me on Monday. I agreed, I wanted to do it. I had said it many times before, but the hospital management was boasting,” Professor Mangarov told 24 Chassa. Today was your first working day as head of the COVID clinic. He went through his first visit to one of the two floors of the clinic and became familiar with how it works. There are a total of 80 beds, 70 are occupied, and among the patients there are elderly, young, even a one-month-old baby, says the infectious disease specialist.

Complying with all epidemic measures is the only requirement of the Minister of Health to associate Prof. Atanas Mangarov as head of the clinic for the treatment of coronavirus. However, Mangarov insists that he will not go in wearing protective clothing from head to toe, nor will he even wear gloves. “I go in with an apron, a mask and wash my hands. I don’t even wear gloves. Human skin is impervious to viruses. All these measures that have become relevant are like a particularly dangerous infection, and COVID is not. It is a new virus acute respiratory, “he added.

The first steps you will take will be to facilitate the written work of doctors. “The health insurance fund imposes certain requirements, which in the current extreme circumstances are not reasonable. I want to relieve doctors not only of their administrative but also therapeutic work, because many of the treatments that are carried out are unnecessary, “said the infectious diseases specialist. .

Adjunct Professor Mangarov hopes that after the end of the epidemic, he will return as head of the Children’s Clinic at the Hospital for Infectious Diseases. “At first, I don’t like working with adults, I like working with children,” he said, taking his new position as a show of confidence but also as a challenge.

“This is an acute viral infection that must be treated according to the rules for acute viral infection, and antibacterial treatments are not the main thing here. Since we have nothing to give people and transmit them, the main burden should be on caring for the sick: this is mainly why the elderly die and need care, we must find a way for the relatives of those who have COVID to take care of them, who have already lived with them when they were contagious, but have not been diagnosed “Says Associate Professor Mangarov, adding that GPs have withdrawn from active care because they are afraid.

He attributes the highest number of deaths in the statistics to the fact that most have severe comorbidities and believes they died “with coronavirus” and not “from the virus.”