Health Minister Venko Filipche said Monday that the rising number of COVID-19 infections is owed to the non-observance of measures.

“We were aware that the autumn period is coming, a time when the number of patients can overwhelm the healthcare system. We said that restrictions could be required and announced this at the beginning of September. This is a plan with additional measures that will not be enforced for the time being, but we are closely monitoring the situation. We are considering the fact that colder days are ahead, when citizens will have to protect themselves from the cold, the flu and the polluted air. All these aspects can further burden the health system. Citizens must be aware that by protecting their own health they are helping the health workers and the system,” said Minister Filipche.

He said the new measures are fully based on the analysis of the epidemiological situation and questionnaires from the new cases, adding that the virus transmission occurs mostly among citizens aged 20-40, while surveys point to the frequent non-observance of measures for groups or visits to events and parties as the main reason.

“We held extensive consultations with all stakeholders, we adopted protocols for outdoor and indoor events, but the result is that the number of infections among people aged 20-40 has risen significantly. This comes from the non-observance of measures during the events they had attended. This is happening across the region and Europe. We are seeing a large number of cases in France, Austria, Spain, Great Britain, all having similar trends,” noted Filipche.

According to him, the hospital capacities are stable and there is a sufficient number of available beds.