According to the 2019 Global Health Security Index, which assesses the preparedness of countries and their health systems to deal with possible epidemics or pandemics, Macedonia is ranked 37th out of 43 countries in Europe.

Of the countries in the region ahead of our country are Croatia, Albania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and BiH.

The Global Health Security Index looks at the preparation of countries in six categories of health care: prevention, early detection and reporting, rapid response, health care system, compliance with international norms and risk environment.

The first coronavirus case in Macedonia was confirmed on Wednesday. The patient is a 50-year-old Macedonian woman who contracted the virus in Italy.