SKOPJE, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients being hospitalized in North Macedonia has more than doubled in one day to 766, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.
According to the ministry, a total of 426 patients were hospitalized in infectious wards throughout the country in the last 24 hours.
On Saturday, the country reported 556 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the national tally to 86,150, with 67,164 recoveries and 2,614 fatalities.
As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in some countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines. North Macedonia will receive 800,000 vaccines against COVID-19 from the manufacturer Pfizer starting from February, according to the ministry.
Meanwhile, 235 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 63 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Jan. 6.
