Bulgaria plans to declare a state of emergency to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Thursday as the country’s confirmed cases rose to 23.

The Balkan country confirmed its first death of a patient due to the virus on Wednesday, and on Thursday the number of confirmed cases jumped to 23 from 7.

“The government will ask the Parliament to declare a state of emergency which will allow the closing of schools, kindergartens and universities,” Borissov said.

Borissov appealed to Bulgarians to follow the rules, saying that on Thursday alone 14 people that were supposed to be under quarantine did not observe it. The state of emergency will allow police to intervene in such cases.

Since the outbreak of the virus, many countries have declare state of emergency to ensure the virus is controlled.