Gostivar, 12 August 2021 (MIA) – Latest Covid statistics recorded in Gostivar are alarming. Almost a dozen of the active cases in the country are reported in the three Gostivar municipalities. Gostivar, which has a total of 370 active cases, on Wednesday registered 82 new infections and two deaths. According to local authorities, the epidemiological situation in the city in western North Macedonia deteriorated after people started flouting virus rules, mainly at family gatherings and weddings. The number of patients needed to be hospitalized has risen sharply, says doctor Ratko Naumovski, head of the infectious disease ward. The ward is almost full and a modular hospital is soon to be opened where patients will be admitted. Some of the patients are receiving oxygen support while others with pre-existing conditions are showing severe symptoms. Around 40 people visited the doctor for examination, most of them under 35, said Naumovski, stressing that the surge in confirmed cases is due to people not abiding by coronavirus protection measures. “People seem to have forgotten that they need to mask up, wash hands, maintain distance. I believe it is due to the restrictions being cancelled. Indoors, rarely anyone wears mask, events are held with a lot of people attending. People go abroad to vacation and no one asks them to present vaccination certificate when they cross the border to come back home,” he said. As the epidemiological situation is worsening in the region, interest in vaccination has been increasing on daily basis with long queues forming outside vaccination centers in. About 300-500 vaccines are applied daily. Almost 2,500 vaccines were administered last week.