Local media showed images of a huge blaze at the Tetovo city hospital as firefighters headed to the scene on Wednesday. The fire was extinguished within hours.
A total of 26 patients were inside the center at the time of the incident. Twelve of those patients are now in hospital and out of critical care, the health ministry said in a statement sent to CNN.
The government called the accident a “huge tragedy” and expressed its deepest condolences to the families and relatives of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery from the injured, in a statement released Wednesday night.
The government has scheduled an emergency and extraordinary session related to the tragedy on Thursday.
The 2 million country reported 701 new coronavirus infections and 24 deaths in the last 24 hours.
The city of Tetovo, inhabited mainly by ethnic Albanians, has one of the highest coronavirus cases in the country.