Macedonia saw another very high daily death toll today, with the Healthcare Ministry reporting 14 deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.

The deceased patients were aged 51 to 83 and were from Prilep, Kumanovo (2), Kriva Palanka, Skopje, Gevgelija, Kocani, Struga, Bitola, Resen (2), Berovo and Tetovo. All patiens were hospitalized when they died. This brings the total death toll up to 897.
The number of newly reported cases was relatively low – 404 – in line with the reduced weekend regiment of testing with only 1,524 tests conducted. The new cases included 172 people from the capital Skopje, 41 from Tetovo and 29 from Strumica. The number of active cases currently stands at 7,067 – double what it was three weeks ago. Skopje has 3,388 active cases, while Tetovo, Prilep and Kumanovo have slightly over 300. Strumica has 419 cases.

The two main clinics in Skopje admitted 16 patients and currently care for 138 patients – two of them on mechanical ventilation. The Kozle hospital in Skopje cares for five children and eight adults.

The regional centers in Bitola and Stip have about 50 patients each. Nearly 300 additional patients are cared for in Covid-19 wards in general hospitals across Macedonia – which are usually the less severe cases.

Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce said that if the numger of patients continues to grow and surpasses the capacity to admit them in country, some patients will be moved into other European countries. “This is common practice across Europe. I hope it won’t come to it”, Filipce said.