The longest total coronavirus curfew begins this afternoon, with plans to lock down Macedonian citizens in their homes for 85 hours.

The lockdown begins on Friday at 16h and will last through the Easter weekend and Monday, ending only on Tuesday morning.

This is the second such weekend lockdown in a row, but the one last week was only for 61 hours. Citizens are busy purchasing food, medicine and other necessities today to prepare.

Macedonian celebrate Easter according to the Julian calendar. Some are using the time before the curfew to go to the churches to pray, but the main gatherings, on Saturday evening, will not take place. The church said it will hold closed services and called on the faithful to join in from their homes, electronically, or going out to the windows and balconies when the bells begin to toll.