The order to impose a three day lockdown on the capital Skopje prompted a massive evacuation. Streams of vehicles are leaving the city all day long, as people leave for their family or vacation homes in the countryside, or the resorts of Mavrovo and Ohrid.

Weekend lockdowns will be lighter outside of the densely populated cities of Skopje, Kumanovo, Tetovo and Stip. But the plan to lock down only the worst affected areas has backfired as it is possible that the mass evacuation of the city will just spread the virus to currently unaffected towns and cities.