Kumanovo Mayor Maksim Dimitrievski tested positive to the coronavirus. Yesterday Dimitrievski charied a meeting of the municipal crisis committee which was attended by Interim Prime Minister Oliver Spasovski, Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce and other top Government officials.

I just received the results. We have 40 newly diagnosed Covid-19 patients and I’m one of them. I urge the citizens not to panic, to remain restrained and disciplined and respect the recommendations to maintain social distancing, Dimitrievski said.

The city of 120.000 people now has 300 coronavirus cases, and is the worst affected large city in Macedonia. Its local authorities have been asking for a full quarantine for weeks now, but the Government was reluctant to impose one, prompting suspicions that local SDSM party politics play a role in the decision. Both Prime Minister Spasovski and Dimitrievski come from the same party branch, but are reportedly rivals and have a bad working relationship.

It’s still unclear whether the report that Dimitrievski is Covid-19 positive will lead to self-isolation of Spasovski and other top Government officials. The leaders of the two main parties in Macedonia, Zoran Zaev and Hristijan Mickoski are already in self-isolation after being interviewed by a journalist who was later diagnosed positive.