In a state of emergency, the state and society continue to function, and rights and freedoms are not automatically restricted, interim Prime Minister Oliver Spasovski explained on Facebook. He points out that the state of emergency declared by President Stevo Pendarovski provides the government with the opportunity to provide conditions for rapid and effective implementation of measures to prevent and protect the health of citizens, as well as conditions for the economy to function normally.

This decision does not mean any halt in free transport, neither in terms of citizens’ food needs, nor in the supply of hospitals and pharmacies. Tomorrow everything continues to function in everyday life just as it does today. There is no decision on new restrictions on the movement and performance of professional duties of citizens. The only exceptions to this, for the time being, are the areas of Debar and Centar Zupa municipalities, as those regions have been identified hotspots of the virus and we have a crisis situation there, says Spasovski.

He added that measures banning all public gatherings outdoors and indoors remain, but now the controls over the implementation of these measures for the benefit of citizens will be stepped up.