A 42 hours long lockdown began on Sunday at 11h. It is put in place to reduce the threat of the spread of the coronavirus during the Muslim holiday Ramadan Bajram – Eid el Fitr.

The lockdown ends on Tuesday morning. The Government was apparently under serious pressure from the Islamic community to reduce the lockdown as much as possible, and the decision was only announced a day before it began. Macedonia continues to have the worst coronavirus mortality rate in the region and a stubbornly high infection rate and the Healthcare Ministry acknowledged that Ramadan iftar dinners, or “family gatherings” as they put it, have contributed to keeping the number of infections high.