Skopje, 26 December 2021 (MIA) – North Macedonia has registered less than 5,000 active COVID-19 cases and the number of positive COVID-19 tests has dropped, reaching nearly 5 percent. On Saturday, 266 new infections were registered after 4,572 tests were conducted in labs across the country in the past 24 hours. Eight deaths were reported in the same period. According to Public Health Institute data, 717 recoveries were registered, said the Health Ministry in its daily report. Of the new cases, Skopje registered 120. “According to the register of Covid-related deaths, seven fatalities were reported in the period from November 27 until December 24, aged 57-82,” said the Health Ministry. At the moment, 4,719 cases are active nationwide, including 2,375 in the capital Skopje. The towns of Pehchevo and Dojran have reported one active case each. Since the onset of the epidemic, North Macedonia has registered 222,932 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 210,319 recoveries. The death toll has reached 7,894. North Macedonia registered its first Omicron variant case earlier this week after a man tested positive. The man, who is a breakthrough case, recently travelled to Great Britain. The health authorities have said that new restrictions will not be introduced in the country over the holidays, urging people to get vaccinated. “High vaccination rate is the only way out of the pandemic,” they stressed. World Health Organization (WHO) preliminary data show that the Omicron coronavirus variant could lower the efficiency of COVID-19 vaccinates, however, the organization noted that the latest variant is less dangerous than the Delta variant.