During the coronavirus epidemic, the Healthcare Ministry made much of the fact that it reorganized the way traffic is conducted in the decrepit Mother Teresa clinic complex in Skopje – Macedonia’s largest and outdated healthcare institution.

The notoriously clogged streets were broadened to make it easier to get around, especially to and from the Infectious Diseases Clinic which is one of the two main clinics where Covid-19 patients are cared for.

And then the summer rains came. The few recent strong bouts of rain showed that the streets were not connected to a proper drainage system. For the past two days, the streets have been turned into small ponds, with doctors and patients forced to waddle through them.