Protesters and police clashed Wednesday as people demonstrated in front of Bulgaria's parliament against measures to stem the COVID-19 pandemic.

Demonstrators broke through a large police contingent and got to the main entrance of the People's Assembly, but stayed outside.

Prime Minister Kiril Petkov called on the protesters to work out a "new model for dealing with the next wave" of COVID-19 infections, with representatives of the protest participating in a working group with government officials.

"You have to come out of this protest with concrete measures," Petkov told the private TV channel bTV.

Hundreds of supporters of the nationalist Vasrazhdane (Rebirth) parliamentary party gathered in front of the parliament to protest measures to stem infections and the country's vaccination program.

Participants, who argue that their freedoms are being curbed by the measures, made a point of not wearing mouth-nose coverings.

Demonstrators came to Sofia on buses from all over the country. At one point, lawmakers left the parliament building.

The number of new infections in Bulgaria reached a record high of 7,062 within 24 hours on Wednesday, according to official data. Bulgaria is the European Union's worst performer in terms of its vaccination rate.