Macedonia is the only country in the region where the number of coronavirus cases is spiking and the public healthcare system is on the verge of collapse as a result, said the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

We have more than 150 newly infected patients for days now. More than 6.000 Macedonian citizens were infected and the authorities don’t care. While our healthcare workers are struggling without adequate equipment, we see the head of the healthcare fund Den Doncev taking piles of cash and stuffing it in his briefcase. This is the true face of our public healthcare under SDSM, the opposition party said.

Doncev was forced to resign following a major scandal in which he is accused of extorting money from a dialysis provider. Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce is also suspected in the case.

There have been more than 200 patients treated in the clinics tasked with working on the most difficult coronavirus cases for days now – the previous peak during April was about 90. This has forced the Healthcare Ministry to open a third clinic to Covid-19 cases and to begin using a makeshift field hospital.