From today, the curfew will last from 23 pm to 5 am, and the catering facilities will serve guests on the open summer terraces until 22.30 pm. The health authorities justify these measures with the improvement of the epidemiological picture in the country, ie the less pressure on the hospitals, but the experts warn that if the measures for distance and wearing a mask are not observed, the situation may escalate again.

Professor Dr. Nikola Panovski recommends the citizens to spend their free time outdoors, ie not to be grouped in cafes. According to him, loosening the measures could be a risk if citizens, especially young people, do not keep their distance.

- That is a risk even now. When you look at them from a short distance away in cafes, it becomes clear that they are behaving as they used to before the pandemic. The measures will be premature if they are not observed. I hope that the citizens will spend most of the time outdoors, without groupings - Panovski told Sloboden Pecat.

Vaccination will be carried out at seven points across the country

In anticipation of the easing of restrictive measures, the mass immunization of the population in the country with the Chinese vaccine "Sinofarm" began, at seven points in the gyms in Skopje, Kavadarci, Bitola, Kumanovo, Ohrid, Tetovo and Stip. According to the announcements, from 10 to 15 thousand citizens will be immunized daily. The Sinofarm vaccine is given in two doses, 21 days apart, and immunity develops six weeks after the second dose.

According to Zaklina Chagorovska from "My term", the age group for immunization is decreasing, and after the turn of the citizens at the age of 65, the criteria will change, ie those with chronic diseases will be vaccinated, ie this criterion will be added to the age criterion and so they with chronic diseases will receive a higher priority. According to Chagorovska, in the next 15 days, all those who applied to be vaccinated on the site "Vaccination.mk", will receive a message and a date where to come to be immunized. Patients who have been vaccinated for the next four days have already been called.

Pensioners from Veles will be vaccinated in Kavadarci

The president of the association of family doctors, Dr. Lilija Cholakova-Dervishova, reacted yesterday that intrusions were made in the system "My appointment" and referrals were changed. According to her, retirees and adults who do not have transportation, are unaccompanied and have health problems, are forced to go to another city to receive the vaccine, and not where they live. Due to such technical shortcomings, some of them have already given up vaccination.

- This is a reaction from many fellow family doctors, that during the holidays someone entered the system "My appointment" and created referrals for adult patients that we should send instead of Veles, to go to be vaccinated in Kavadarci. It is a shame. So they come all morning and cancel the vaccination, because they have no transportation, no escort and we do not understand how someone can enter our system and create referrals with our passwords when we were not at work at all for the holidays - says Cholakova-Dervishova for "Free Press".

From the system "My term", on the other hand, they say that it is a mistake made by the citizen himself or the one who reported it, because he chose the wrong city. Citizens who have received a message to get vaccinated in a place far away should send an email to [email protected] to change their point - said Cogarovska for TV 24.

Hence, they add that for vaccination of citizens who are difficult to move and are at home, the services will meet and perform field vaccination. Prisoners and those staying in hospitals belong to the critical group and will be vaccinated according to health protocols.

Panovski: We will throw vaccines if the awareness for vaccination is not raised

If the Government and the Ministry of Health do not raise to the highest level the campaign that will motivate the citizens to apply for vaccination, then many of the vaccines will remain unused and will be thrown away, commented for "Free Press" Professor Dr. Nikola Panovski.

Dr. Panovski believes that one of the ways in which health authorities can work on the case is to publish comparative analyzes of how many people have died in countries where vaccination rates are high, such as in Israel or the United Kingdom, and how many in Macedonia.

- I know that it is difficult for them to say that in Macedonia 45 people die every day, and in Great Britain only one person. However, this is only one of the ways in which public awareness can be raised. I think that there are young people who have not registered on the vaccination site so far because they knew that there are no vaccines and they will not call them. I expect and hope that they will start applying. An intensified campaign should be launched - Professor Dr. Panovski thinks.