Macedonia ranks sixth in the world in Covid-19 mortality, said doctor Elisaveta Stikova, professor at the Medical Faculty in Skopje, during a debate organized by the Kantar group today.

We are among the countries that are hardest hit by Covid. There was a lot of improvisation in how we worked and we lacked modern, contemporary, strict protocols that would have been followed in many regards, from approaching the virus, to certificates and vaccination. This led to lack of trust in the institutions that dragged us even further down, and emboldened those who wanted to deny the existence of Covid and to minimize the measures, Stikova said, adding that hospital mortality in Macedonia is exceptionally high, at 50 percent.

Microbiologist Nikola Panovski added that the Government failed to implement measures that could have averted disastrous outcomes, such as the huge wave of the summer of 2021. “We had a disaster in Tetovo which could have been avoided if only we ordered a ban on indoor weddings. Nothing more was needed. But they appeased a party in the coalition (DUI) and look what that did to our own citizens”, Panovski said. Tetovo and Gostivar had the worst infection rates of the pandemic in Macedonia during the summer because of the annual return of the emigrant workers from Western Europe and the numerous weddings that are held at this time of the year.