April 6 (SeeNews) - North Macedonia's health minister Venko Filipce said that the number of coronavirus cases in the country stands at 555 as of Sunday, as the death toll has increased to 18.
Some 72 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours, Filipce said in a press conference on Sunday.
There are 52 health workers among the infected. Some 23 people have recovered from the COVID-19 disease.
Filipce noted that the country is now entering the second phase of the epidemic as the number of new coronavirus cases is increasing. He said that the peak of the outbreak is expected at the end of April, when the number of coronavirus cases is expected to reach 2,000.
North Macedonia last week set up a field hospital for coronavirus patients near an infectious disease clinic in Skopje which will start operations soon, the health minister said.
In mid-March, North Macedonia's president Stevo Pendarovski declared a 30-day nationwide state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak. The country also imposed a curfew on all citizens from 9 pm to 5 am. On weekends, the curfew is from 4 pm to 5 am. In addition, people under 18 are not allowed to leave their homes from 9 pm until noon the following day, while people over 67 years of age are restricted from leaving their homes between 11 am and 5 am the next day.