As Macedonia continues to have the highest Covid death rate in Europe, one of the reasons for this inability to competently treat the illness is the shortage of doctors and nurses, said doctor Vladimir Ristovski in an interview with Alfa TV.

The large number of deaths is partly because of the fact that patients seek treatment relatively late and only get hospitalized when they are in serious condition. The lack of treatment protocols also contributes to this. But the lack of medical staff is also having major impact. Our country produce high quality staff, but their emigration to Western Europe led to shortages, Ristovski said.

During the catastrophic hospital fire in Tetovo on September 8th, it was revealed that due to the lack of nurses, family members are routinely told to stay in hospitals and help care for their loved ones – a practice that was being concealed by the Healthcare Ministry. Two family members died in the fire, along with 13 patients.