SKOPJE, May 15 (Xinhua) -- North Macedonia's President Stevo Pendarovski announced here on Friday that the state of emergency in the country will be extended for another 14 days due to the coronavirus pandemic.
During his address to the public, Pendarovski declared that this decision was made during a session of the Security Council held on Friday.
Pendarovski noted that his decision was based on extensive consultations with experts in several fields and the advisors in his cabinet.
"I decided to declare a new state of emergency lasting only 14 days instead of 30 days as the government requested given the positive trends of the pandemic situation in the country," Pendarovski said.
The president underlined that authorities need to extend the state of emergency in order to deal with the economic effects associated with COVID-19, as well as to complete the health responses to the pandemic.
Pendarovski called on the government to consider gradually reducing restrictions on the movement of citizens and the work of businesses.
The second 30-day state of emergency in North Macedonia declared by the president on April 16 is due to expire on Saturday.
On March 18, Pendarovski declared the first 30-day state of emergency to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country.
On Friday, the Health Ministry reported 17 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 1,740, with 1,251 recoveries and 97 fatalities. Enditem
