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| - The leaders of North Macedonia's two biggest parties have been ordered to self-isolate after being interviewed by a TV reporter infected with coronavirus, health authorities said Friday. Some 30 people have died from the disease in the Balkan state where April general elections have been postponed indefinitely on safety concerns. Former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev from the Social Democrats, and Hristijan Mickoski, the leader of the rival right-wing VMRO-DPMNE, have now joined those under mandatory quarantine for 14 days. The order was given after the pair were interviewed last week by "a journalist from one TV station who is positive with COVID-19", said Minister of Health Venko Filipce, who has been guiding the country through the crisis. Writing on Facebook, Zaev said he was waiting for test results and that he did not have any symptoms. Mickoski, who has already tested negative, wrote that he was in "great health and physical condition". Both politicians met with Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto earlier this week. North Macedonia, with a population of about two million, was quick to close schools, shops and ban gatherings after the first cases emerged in early March, with authorities now enforcing an evening curfew and a 24-hour lockdown. Some 663 cases of infection have been declared. str-ssm/bp
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