SKOPJE, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Health Ministry of North Macedonia reported on Friday 386 new coronavirus cases, a record rise for the third consecutive day.

According to the ministry, a total of 2,267 tests were conducted over the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Minister of Labor and Social Policy Jagoda Shahpaska said on Friday that the situation in the country's kindergartens is stable one month after their reopening, according to the report of Media Information Agency.

Authorities in North Macedonia decided to reopen kindergartens on Sept. 9 under strict health protocols after being closed since March due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Shahpaska told reporters on Friday that 10 children and 21 kindergarten employees are currently positive with COVID-19, while 150 children are in isolation due to the virus.

"We are closely monitoring the situation, as kindergartens were the first institutions to open towards normalization of society amid COVID-19 pandemic," said the minister.

According to the minister, the children positive with the virus were not infected in the kindergartens, but from their close relatives.

So far, North Macedonia has reported 20,163 confirmed cases, with 16,009 recoveries and 781 fatalities.

As the world is struggling to control the pandemic, countries across the globe -- among them European Union nations, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- are racing to find a vaccine.

According to the website of the World Health Organization, as of Oct. 2, there were 193 COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed worldwide, and 42 of them were in clinical trials. Enditem

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