North Macedonia has registered a new record number of daily coronavirus infections for the third consecutive day, with more than half the country’s 2.1 million people under an 80-hour near-total lockdown.

Health Minister Venko Filipce announced that 180 newly infected people and two deaths were recorded over the past 24 hours, a new record since the first case was registered in late February. The total confirmed cases in the country now stand at 2,790, and 149 people have died.

Filipce said about 90% of newly infected people are members and relatives of 15 families, and that the second wave of the epidemic in North Macedonia was the result of people ignoring the ban on mass gatherings. More than a half of the new cases are from the capital, Skopje.

North Macedonia’s government has imposed almost a near-complete curfew in four regions that started at 9 p.m. Thursday and will end at 5 a.m. Monday. People can only leave their houses to go to a hospital or pharmacy. Supermarkets and food stores are closed.

Filipce said he is confident that the new spike in infections is under control and announced that authorities would discuss on Sunday the next steps for dealing with the epidemic./apnews.com

The number of coronavirus infections in Serbia increased by 96 in the past 24 hours to reach 11,667, while the number of coronavirus-related fatalities climbed to 247, the national health ministry said Friday.

Over the past 24 hours, one person died from the virus-related causes. In a single day, 4,795 people were tested for the virus. The number of newly confirmed infections doubles, as Thursday’s figures showed 48 new infections.

Overall, 390 people are taken to hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus, while more than 265,000 people were tested nationwide.

Serbia reported its first coronavirus case on March 23. According to Serbian epidemiologist and a member of the national anti-coronavirus crisis center Predrag Kon, Serbia is coming out of the COVID-19 epidemic and is entering the phase of sporadic outbreaks.

Earlier, Serbia asked Russia for help to fight the epidemic. Between April 3 and May 18, a Russian unit fully disinfected medical facilities in more than 40 cities and towns across Serbia, disinfecting 376 buildings and constructions./tass.com