Arben Vitia

Two months later, the treatment had ravaged his immune system.

Fearing for his life, Rron's family in the town of Vushtrri/Vucitrn, north of the Kosovo capital Pristina, sent him to neighbouring North Macedonia for a second opinion.

Kosovo's ruling Vetevendosje party suffered a heavy blow in Sunday's mayoral election runoffs, winning only four of the 12 municipalities it was competing in, and losing in the capital.

Kosovo Health Minister Arben Vitia told BIRN Kosovo's TV show Kallxo Pernime on Wednesday that several labs in the country had obtained their licenses illegally, which had led to cases of falsified COVID-19 test results.

"A state of emergency has been declared on the entire territory of the municipality of Decan," said the text of an official decision made by the mayor of Decan/Decani, Bashkim Ramosaj, on Tuesday.

Ramosaj said he made the decision because more than 880 people are suspected to have fallen ill as a result of drinking contaminated water in the municipality over the past two days.

An opposition Kosovo MP has called on the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, to open vaccination centres for Kosovo citizens at a time when Kosovo has one the lowest COVID vaccination rates in Europe.

Agon Musliu, from Gjilan/ Gnilanje, was put in 14-day quarantine after returning from Germany from his graduate studies.

Outgoing Health Minister Arben Vitia told a press conference on Monday evening that starting from April 15 at 6am, people in Kosovo will not be allowed to leave their houses for more than 90 minutes a day.

Kosovo on Friday confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus, as the authorities test more people. The announcement was made at a joint press conference of Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the Minister of Health, Arben Vitia. They said two of 15 suspected cases had tested positive for the virus. Both had arrived recently from Italy, by far the worst affected country in Europe.