The first coronavirus patient registered in Macedonia is a 50 year old woman who arrived from Milan, where she was visiting friends.

The woman was treated for a cold, but was not tested for the potentially deadly virus before taking a minivan to Skopje, said Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce. As soon as she arrived in Skopje she sought treatment in the Infectious Diseases Clinic.

The woman is now quarantined and Filipce asked that the public refrains from panicking. He estimated that the woman had the virus for two weeks now, and that she was not a threat to the other passengers on the van. “But, we are following all protocols and we are testing all the passengers who were with her”, Filipce said, adding that the passengers will also be quarantined.

Public health official Zarko Karadzovski assured the public that one patient with the coronavirus is not a threat and added that there is no need to restrict the movement of people. Interim Prime Minister Oliver Spasovski also called on the public not to panic.