Skopje, 14 March 2022 (MIA) – The serology analysis showed that 86% of the vaccinated and 75% of the unvaccinated who have had COVID-19 and recovered have immunity. The countries that lifted all restrictions have much higher indicators, Health Minister Bekim Sali said Monday. "I am optimistic about the general situation in our country, but I am still not optimistic about the measures," he told reporters adding that unfortunately the country is still on the border between the yellow and green zone moving quickly toward the yellow zone. Sali pointed out that the number of newly infected is no longer an indicator, saying it is very important per 100,000 inhabitants how many are newly infected, how many are hospitalized and how many have long-lasting consequences. “The indicator for both hospitalizations and new infections is positive. I hope that this week we will be in the green zone, but whether we are ready to scrap the Covid measures I am not sure. We will have to see what the Infectious Diseases Commission will decide on Wednesday. The countries we look up to have had lower indicators, and their vaccination rates exceed 80%, so both natural and artificial immunization of the people is not a guarantee that the previous condition will not return," Sali said, answering reporters' questions. I wish, said the Minister, more than anyone else, to be the first to announce that from tomorrow we can go without masks and I would certainly be remembered after that statement, but the situation is still not so positive to say that “today we are free”. “Wishes are one thing, numbers are another. The Ministry of Health, the Institute of Public Health and the Commission for Infectious Diseases are monitoring the situation not only in the country, but also in the region and beyond. We have four countries that we look up to as the first countries that lifted measures, and they boomeranged back to square one. We all agree that we would not risk making such a move in order to facilitate it and return to the previous way of life. This week, at a meeting of the Commission for Infectious Diseases scheduled for Wednesday, we will see what the epidemiological situation is in the country," Sali said. Answering journalists' questions, he emphasized that every clinic, every department organizes the working day based on the situation it receives as conclusions from the Commission for Infectious Diseases, which has representatives from all levels of all health institutions so that we can transfer all information and decisions to our institutions. “I wish we were in a safe green zone to be free, so to open more terms for regular checks, interventions, etc. I'm announcing the post-Covid phase for which we will need different health policies. Covid is a big challenge, but we have about 30 other diagnoses that are on the verge of epidemics or possibly pandemics and we will have to deal with all of them. This donation is part of that, to be ready for the post-Covid period, to face all the demands of our citizens,” added Minister Sali. dk/ba/