COVID-19 Cases, Fatalities and Hospital Admissions Still Soaring

Jerusalem, 28 October, 2020 (TPS) -- Skopje, 28 October 2020 (MIA) – North Macedonia registered on Tuesday 628 new COVID-19 cases out of 2,236 tests carried out in the previous 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry. In addition, 15 patients died, of which seven from Skopje. Tuesday’s report also registered 531 recovered patients. Since the onset of the epidemic, the country has seen 27,827 confirmed coronavirus cases, while 19,479 patients have recovered. The death toll has reached 949. At the moment, there are 7,399 active cases.

The autumn surge in COVID-19 has filled hospital beds with patients. About 650 are in hospital treatment, of which 110 are on oxygen support, and one on ventilators.

North Macedonia has expanded COVID-19 testing capacities in public health institutions. Health Minister Venko Filipche on Tuesday urged private laboratories to reduce COVID-19 testing prices.

“I do not think they should think about profits at this time. We should meet half-way and prices should go down. If this trend continues by the weekend, then the Health Insurance Fund will definitely conclude an agreement with some of the private labs in order to lower prices, increase the number of tests and reduce waiting times,” Filipche told Telma TV.

In a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the Government has already passed measures restricting the working hours of all hospitality facilities by 11 pm and limiting the number of passengers in public transport to 50 percent of the total capacity. It also accepted the recommendation that the work process in administration, municipalities, courts and wherever possible is conducted in shifts, rotations or from home.

The bill on amending the Law on the Protection of the Population against Communicable Diseases will enter fast-tracked procedure at a session after it is debated by the members of the Parliament’s committees on health and legislation.

“Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a need has arisen to further regulate the law defining which health institutions shall treat patients infected with the new virus and increase the competence of inspectors tasked with controlling the application of the health safety measures,” says the elaboration of the draft-amendments.

According to the Health Minister, the set of measures already in place, along with the legal changes in the Parliament, allows for citizens to function, while priority is put on the protection of public health.

“The curfew is not a permanent solution. Numbers will rise again in places where measures are not observed,” Filipche said.

Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski said Tuesday he had tested positive for COVID-19. Spasovski posted on Facebook he is stable with mild symptoms and is now in home isolation.

In addition, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Tuesday his COVID-19 test has come back negative, and Deputy PM Ljupcho Nikolovski said he has also tested negative for COVID-19.

“It’s vital that each and every one of us protect their own health and the health of those around us. Everybody can contribute to public health protection by fully adhering to the measures and recommendations. Wear protective masks, maintain distance, avoid large gatherings, it is the only way to combat COVID-19,” Zaev said in a Facebook post.

COVID-19 cases are soaring across Europe, too. Bulgaria saw a record of 2,243 coronavirus cases and 42 fatalities. Patients include 1,948 doctors. Since the onset of the epidemic, Bulgaria has recorded a total of 40,132 confirmed cases and 1,136 fatalities. Greece registered 1,259 new COVID-19 cases, which is a single-day record in new cases. According to the Greek Public Health Organization, 12 patients died. Since the onset of the epidemic, the country has seen 32,752 confirmed COVID-19 cases and a death toll of 593.

Serbia registered 1,053 new coronavirus cases, and its death toll has now reached 798. Albania saw 284 new coronavirus cases out of 1,278 tests carried out, as well as seven fatalities. Since the onset of the pandemic, Albania has seen 19,729 confirmed coronavirus cases, 10,808 recovered patients, 487 fatalities, and there are 8,434 active cases. Kosovo has so far registered about 18,000 COVID-19 cases, with over 51,000 patients recovered, and 666 fatalities. At the moment, the number of active cases in the country is somewhere below 2,200.

Infections are surging to new records every day across Europe. Cases in France have spiked with over 33,000 patients in 24 hours. The UK has 22,885 new cases, Italy 21,994, Spain 18,418, and Russia 16,550.

The U.S. has the world’s highest coronavirus caseload, 9,010,027, followed by India with 7,988,735, Brazil 5,415,671, Russia 1,547,774, and France and Spain nearing 1.2 million cases.

Mike Ryan, the WHO’s top emergency expert, said Europe needs a “serious acceleration” in the fight against the coronavirus and a lack of contact-tracing capacity could drive the disease into the darkness.

“The vast region, comprising 46 countries at WHO, accounted for 46 percent of global cases and nearly one-third of deaths,” Ryan told a press conference in Geneva.