The Bulgarian Health Ministry on Tuesday reported record new COVID-19 infections and deaths of 2,243 and 42 respectively over the past 24 hours, taking the national tally of confirmed cases and death toll to 40,132 and 1,136 respectively.

The previous daily records of 1,595 new COVID-19 cases and 29 related deaths were reported on Friday and Thursday, respectively.

Meanwhile, the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients reached 2,130, with 149 in intensive care, while the number of infected medical workers stood at 1,948, the ministry said.

It added that 296 people have recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the country's total recoveries to 18,650.

The figures also showed that 7,659 tests were carried out on Monday, bringing the total number to 669,518.

To stop the sharp rise of COVID-19 cases, the country's Health Ministry last week made wearing masks obligatory in all outdoor public spaces where people gather and where observing a physical distance of 1.5 meters is impossible. And the occupancy in discos, bars and other nightclubs should hold no more than one person per two square meters.

In addition, local health authorities in cities such as Sofia, Gabrovo, Blagoevgrad and Shumen, must close all nightclubs for two weeks.