Health Minister Venko Filipche met on Thursday with the directors of the COVID centers within “Mother Teresa” clinical center and discussed the situation with hospital beds availability and opening of new wards for treating COVID-19 patients.

Currently, there are about 190 hospital beds available at the internal clinics. And although the beds are filled to capacity, recovered patients are being discharged and by this more beds are becoming available, the Health Ministry said in a press release.

50 extra hospital beds will be put at the disposal in the COVID center within the Otolaryngology Clinic for treatment of confirmed and suspected coronavirus patients, which will be open later in the day.

If necessary, new center within the Surgical Clinic will open in the next few days.

There are about 350 available beds for treatment of COVID-19 patients at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases, as well as at the COVID centers in the Dermatovenerology Clinic, the Ophthalmology Clinic, the Nephrology Clinic, the Gastroenterohepatology Clinic, the Neurology Clinic and the Institute for Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis.

There are 110 extra hospital beds in the COVID center within the Skopje City General Hospital ‘8 September’ and 40 more in the Institute of Respiratory Diseases in Children-Kozle, the press release reads.