It makes no sense that Macedonia allows visitors from countries like Greece and Bulgaria, who have far higher infection rates than Macedonia and have the delta variant of the coronavirus, says microbiologist Nikola Panovski. Both these countries require proof of vaccination or PCR tests from Macedonian visitors, while Macedonia has not introduced reciprocal measures.

We need to introduce entry checks, even on our migrants who come from countries that have the delta strain, or visit countries that have it. But the Infectious Diseases Commission ignores these calls. We have 6 cases a day and Greece has 800, which is 25 times more per capita, and half of them are the delta variant, Panovski says.