Filipche: Government late to respond to Gostivar outbreak, citizens receive mixed messages on water safety

Venko Filipche, president of SDSM, sharply criticized the government's handling of the outbreak in Gostivar during a media briefing today, saying institutions reacted too late and only moved after the epidemic had already gained momentum.

Filipche accused public authorities of failing on prevention and of arriving at reactive measures instead of timely action. He warned that the late response is already visible in measures around drinking water and early detection of disease.

"The water in Gostivar is an indicator that all reactions are delayed. Only today the Ministry of Health is issuing some recommendations for early detection and identification of symptoms, detection of patients, when the epidemic already has a very strong momentum. Now recommendations are arriving from the Commission for Infectious Diseases, and two weeks ago I warned that the next thing that could appear is hepatitis," Filipche said.

Filipche: government improvised and sowed confusion

He said the government displayed "maximum unseriousness and improvisation," and that institutions have no clear answers about additional preventive steps needed to protect public health. According to Filipche, citizens have been told to use so-called technical water without being given key information about its origin, who oversees it and how its safety is guaranteed.

"Whom should we trust, Klekovski or Hristijan? Will there be technical water or not? Contradictory statements," Filipche said, criticizing inconsistent official messages. He also flagged potential risks to Skopje's water supply and asked authorities to publicly confirm whether the wells that supplement the Rashce system have been checked.

Photo: press material from the event