An analysis of the 1.259 confirmed coronavirus cases in Macedonia so far has shown that 343 or 27 percent of them had prior chronic illnesses. Most of those patients – 227 – had heart issues, said the Public Health Institute, while 70 had diabetes.

The share of patients with prior illnesses goes sharply up when you analyze only those Covid-19 cases who required hospitalization. Of more than 260 patients who were hospitalized, 49 percent had prior illnesses, the Institute said.