N. Macedonia COVID hospital fire kills 10

At least 10 people have died and many others were injured in a fire at a makeshift hospital for COVID-19 patients in North Macedonia.

The blaze occurred late on Wednesday in the western city of Tetovo, where the facility was set up following a recent spike in infections in the region.

Health ministry officials said injured medical staff and patients along with over evacuees were being transferred to hospitals in the capital Skopje.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said in a Facebook post the blaze followed an explosion at the site.

With less than 30 per cent of the country's population fully vaccinated, North Macedonia has seen a significant spike in infections and deaths since late August.