Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce said that the number of coronavirus cases is going down but there is no room to reduce the restrictions. He pormised that Macedonia will receive 5,850 doses of the Pfizer vaccine in February, and 17,550 in March with at least additional 17,550 in April. Filipce is under strong criticism after his failure to provide more of the vaccines and get them sooner.

We are awaiting for a date when we can receive the 833,000 doses through the Covax mechanism, and Bulgaria, Poland, Greece and Austria said they are prepared to share some of their vaccines with us, Filipce assured the public.

The Minister said that it is a welcome sign that the number of infections is declining, but that it is too soon to relax the restrictions and declare that the epidemic has peaked. “If we let our guard down, it can peak again”, Filipce added. The restrictions include an early closing time for bars and restaurants set at 18h, bans on large private parties and a rigorous but often unenforced mask mandate.