The Healthcare Ministry waited until 8pm today to report by far worst daily numbers of new infections. Out of 2,647 tests, 870 came back positive – a rate of 32 percent.
Half of the new cases are in the capital Skopje. Tetovo has 64 new cases, Strumica 55 and Veles – 38. This brings the number of active cases just under 8,000, which is another grim record in the course of the epidemic, which is currently spiking in Macedonia and across Europe.
Fourteen patients died over the past 24 hours. Their ages ranged from 51 to 83. The deaths were reported in Skopje (3), Kumanovo (3), Prilep (2), Debar, Tetovo, Veles, Strumica, Radovis and Kratovo. The death toll stands at 963.
The two main clinics in Skopje, which treat the most severe Covid-19 cases, admitted 21 new patients and currently care for 198 – two of them on mechanical ventilation. The Kozle hospital cares for 10 adults and 11 children. The Bitola and Stip regional centers treat 64 and 48 patients, respectively. General hospitals across Macedonia have nearly 300 patients in their coronavirus wards.
Last note, the numbers given out by the Ministry of Health are highly dubious, and this is an understatement. Our contacts at various hospitals such as the former military hospital 8th September, the Jane Sandanski Poli-Clinic and the City Hospital all have confirmed their daily max-capacity is 50 tests each, with two hospitals saying often it is less than 50/day, between 30-40 tests. If the largest hospitals in the capital can conduct 50 tests on their best days and we take into account the number of hospitals, this means that there are simply zero chances for more than 400 tests/day conducted in the Macedonian capital. But the Government is coming up with 2,647 cases nation-wide…
