With the rapidly growing number of coronavirus infections, Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce announced new restrictions, including the mandatory wearing of masks even in the outside, and a ban on grouping of people at home or in the streets in the evenings.

The mask mandate will cover all citizens over six years of age. Citizens have to wear a mask or some kind of cloth or scarf over the face. For months, masks were mandatory in all closed public spaces such as supermarkets and banks, and in congested open spaces such as farmers markets, but now even individuals alone in the street will have to wear them. Filipce said that the thinking behind this idea is to cover citizens who may accidentally meet in the streets.

Another novel restriction, especially with the coming season of religious feasts, is the ban on having more than four people as guests in one’s home. Filipce said that this is meant to prevent the spread of home parties, now that clubs and cafes are banned from having live music events and were placed under a serious noise restriction of just 55 decibels.

The ban will extend to all public spaces, including clubs where youth often gather faced with the lack of cafes and even gas stations, some of which served as alternative gathering places. No more than four people can group in the open after 22h to prevent such parties.

Filipce warned that several general hospitals across Macedonia are at maximum capacity, and that patients are forced to move to other cities. He said that the Ministry has a field hospital in Skopje prepared to care for coronavirus patients. The infectious diseases wards in the hospitals in Strumica, Kumanovo, Veles and Prilep are full, Filipce acknowledged, and said that hospitals in Kocani and Kavadarci are being prepared to care for the surplus patients.