Ukraine's coronavirus-linked deaths at record as infections grow

FILE PHOTO: A medical staff member wearing a protective suit disinfects an ambulance at the Vishnevsky hospital in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

KYIV (Reuters) - The number of daily coronavirus deaths in Ukraine jumped to 141 from the previous record of 113 deaths registered on Tuesday, the national security council said on Wednesday.

The council also reported a record 6,719 new coronavirus cases registered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 315,826 cases with 5,927 deaths.

Ukrainian health minister Maksym Stepanov said on Tuesday the number of coronavirus cases may rise to 8,000-10,000 a day in the coming weeks.

The daily tally of cases spiked above 5,000 in October, prompting the government to extend lockdown measures until the end of 2020.

Stepanov said Ukraine would introduce stricter lockdown restrictions if cases rise to 11,000-15,000 daily. He warned that the resources of the medical system would run out if the number of daily cases exceeds 20,000.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Raju Gopalakrishnan)