North Macedonian Health Minister Venko Filipce said on Thursday that the country had a record 364 new coronavirus cases and would introduce much stricter measures.

“We had 317 new cases on Wednesday following several days of about 200 and today we have 364 new cases,” the minister said.

The new measures including mandatory face masks for everyone over the age of six, a ban on group gatherings both indoors and outdoors after 10 pm. Filipce said that the measures are being introduced to protect the population from the next wave of the coronavirus pandemic. “The situation is stable now but could escalate and we havve to react,” he said.

The new measures include bans on large family gatherings and parties.