Skopje, 20 September 2024 (MIA) — The modular hospitals that were used as COVID-19 clinics in the early waves of the coronavirus pandemic may be put back into use as part of public health institutions or other state facilities, Health Minister Arben Taravari said Friday.

Their condition should be evaluated first, however, before they can be put back into use, Taravari said in response to a reporter's question regarding recent interest expressed by the Idrizovo prison for the modular hospital at the Infectious Clinic.

"I don't know what condition all the modular hospitals are in," Taravari said. 

"We need this information before we decide where they could be distributed so they can be used by public health institutions or any other administration. So, we need to know the condition they are in so we can see to it that they are not disposed of," he said.

Taravari said they would not necessarily be used as outpatient clinics. They could also be repurposed as needed by public institutions, he noted.

"The clinic in Idrizovo, in particular, needs to be renovated, so we were considering, at a government session, to decide to move the modular hospital from the Infectious Clinic [to Idrizovo] so we don't spend money on renovating the outpatient clinic there. There, it could serve as both a general and a dental clinic," the health minister said. mr/