The volume of testing and the number of newly diagnosed Covid cases declined today from the record highs set last week, down to 5,165 tests and 813 new cases. But this could be the result of the weekend, which, throughout the pandemic, had lower testing rates. Over the next two days, the daily reports issued by the Healthcare Ministry will show if the current wave, linked to the New Year celebrations, is still going strong or abating.

The total number of active cases in the country continued to grow, up to 10,383. And on social media, anecdotal reports of mass spread of the virus, especially through groups who held New Year celebrations, continue to appear.

The Healthcare Ministry also informed that, over the past day, six patients died of Covid. They were aged between 56 and 78. Four other patients, who died in late December but whose deaths went unreported at the time, were first included in the report today. One of them was a foreign citizen who died in Tetovo.