Ukraine reports record daily high of coronavirus-related deaths

KYIV: Ukraine registered a record daily high of 407 coronavirus-related deaths over the past 24 hours, and infections are likely to rise further over the next one to two weeks, its health minister said on Wednesday.

The country began rolling out vaccinations against the COVID-19 pandemic last month and 231,564 people had received the first shot by Wednesday, yet Health Minister Maksym Stepanov described the situation as "tense enough". The capital Kyiv, with the highest infection rate in the ex-Soviet republic of 41 million people, may be forced to restrict public transport, close schools and kindergartens, Mayor Vitali Klitschko told a daily media briefing.