The mass testing of textile workers from a plant in Stip, which is the latest coronavirus hotspot in Macedonia, started Thursday. Staffers from two other factories who took the same buses as the ones from where the infection spread are also being tested, as decided by the Commission for Infectious Diseases, the Health Ministry and the Stip Crisi HQ, Stip mayor Blagoj Bocvarski said Friday.

The mass testing of workers will wrap up today, or tomorrow at latest. All plant staffers will be tested and their results are pending. We’re hoping for a small number of infected textile workers. The process entailed a detailed epidemiological analysis, which outlined the contacts and movement of employees and was crowned with mass testing, Bocvarski said.

After meeting with the Commission for Infectious Diseases, Stip’s Public Health Center has asked citizens to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

All people living in Stip, who have been riding the same buses as workers from the textile plant which is now  considered a coronavirus hotspot, as well as all other citizens who use this type of transportation, have been told to self-isolate and report any coronavirus symptoms to their family physicians.

As of Friday, 19 coronavirus patients have been registered in the Stip cluster, including, besides workers, members of their families. Epidemiologists have put in isolation 153 factory staffers, as well as members of their families and circle of friends.

Public Health Center authorities underlined that these measures have been taken so as to curb the spread of the epidemic in Stip.