Epidemiologist and former Healthcare Minister Dragan Danilovski believes that the Government needs to introduce an evening and weekend curfew in order to slow down the run-away rate of coronavirus infections.

Our healthcare system can’t sustain a rate of 1,000 infections and 30 deaths a day, Danilovski said.

He welcomed the proposal to include the military in responding to the crisis, with logistics and accomodation, and also welcomed the controversial move to allow the Government to “manage” privately owned hospitals. Several major private clinics in Skopje provided treatment far beyond what the public sector could offer, but for a hefty price. Under the state of crisis that is about to be declared today, the Government will have the right to operate these hospitals, and will pay up to 30 percent of the fee for treatment of Covid-19 patients.