Skopje, 7 July 2021 (MIA) – Ten Delta variant cases have been registered in North Macedonia, with the latest four confirmed today, Health Minister Venko Filipche said on Wednesday. “These are two couples who have traveled abroad and there is no epidemiological risk. Epidemiologists are doing the regular activities of confirming contacts, issuing isolation certificates etc,” Filipche told reporters. He said about 400,000 citizens are already vaccinated, of whom 240,000 receiving a booster shot, with the remaining vaccination applicants to be inoculated by the end of the week, along with the ones who received the first shot in Serbia. “This will bring the total number of vaccinated citizens to 500,000. I urge citizens to come at vaccination sites and get the jab. As of Monday, all sites will be open and there will be no need for appointment. The field vaccination will also begin on Monday, children aged 12-16 can also be vaccinated with the Pfizer jab, which is currently the only vaccine currently approved for this group,” noted Filipche. He added that a new variant might appear in a few months that might be even more contagious. “It is important that people get vaccinated. If we are vaccinated at a higher percentage and we have a certain degree of herd immunity, the situation with the recent British variant will not repeat. One of the possibilities is that the disease might take on an endemic form and that is why the vaccine is the only thing that can protect us,” said Filipche. He said the Delta variant is increasingly spread among the youth and that is why emphasis is now put on vaccinating the younger citizens, in order to have a proper education process in schools in September. Doctor Aleksandar Dimovski of the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Center within the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MANU) said vaccination is the only certain thing that prevents a severe form of the disease. “There is no need for measures that will literally close the country. What we know for sure is that all vaccines highly prevent a severe form of the disease, hospitalization and fatal outcome,” said Dimovski.