North Macedonia has eased coronavirus measures, while the number of victims does not seem to be stopping. The country tops the list in terms of mortality in the Balkans. The director of the Center for Public Health, Arben Ziberi, says that this is due to tests performed on people who have died of other diseases.
Northe Macedonia has now the highest mortality rate from coronavirus in the region. The country with about 2 million inhabitants has registered 122 victims so far, over 2 thousand infected, of which over 470 active cases. Experts explain this with the numerous tests that have been done, even on people who have died of other diseases, according to the director of the Center for Public Health, Arben Ziberi:
"The main reason why mortality is higher in our country is that we are probably the only country in the region that has done tests on people after their death. There are about 30 cases that have been tested after death and the cause has not been coronavirus but other diseases. However, they were also diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus after death. No country does tests for coronavirus after death and if we remove these 30 cases, we are there somewhere, the same with the countries of the region", Mr. Ziberi says.
Authorities have eased austerity measures at a time when the number of people affected by coronavirus is not falling. The curfew has been lifted and restaurants and cafes opened on Thursday, albeit with a series of protocols.
Ziberi says coronavirus areas are controllable despite the addition of new cases. He emphasizes that it is expected that with the mitigation of the measures, the number of those affected with COVID-19 will increase.
"We are now in the second phase of pandemics, as are many other countries, and after a complete isolation, until we had coercive measures in force, on 5 May we had not any cases of coronavirus. This is not the case today, with only 24 new cases today. But it is worth noting that we have the situation under control. These are controllable hearths and are family-friendly. We have cases in a family with more affected people and the virus is not distributed as it was at the beginning or at the peak of pandemic everywhere."
In recent days, cases have been registered in the municipalities of Skopje, Cair, Saraj and Butel and in Tetovo and the surrounding area, where Albanians live, and Mr. Ziberi connects this with the gatherings of people and families during Ramadan.
"So we have to be careful that the virus is present in us," he said.
The three deaths in the last 24 hours have occurred in Skopje and Tetovo, with the first casualty among health workers, a pharmacist from the Struga district.
The Skopje Public Health Center is controlling nursery and infant staff, and out of 2,000 employees, 1,200 have been tested where only one positive coronavirus case has been diagnosed in the meantime, said Ziberi. Meanwhile, two cases have been registered in nursing homes. Kindergartens are expected to open in mid-June, but with plenty of changes and measures to avoid eventually spreading the virus.