KYIV, June 14 - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy cancelled face-to-face meetings and visits and will limit his contacts to a close circle after his wife tested positive for coronavirus, his office reported Friday.

“Face-to-face meetings... are excluded in the coming days. Participation in mass events is also excluded, working trips outside the capital of Ukraine are cancelled,” the office said in a statement.

Earlier on Friday, First Lady Olena Zelenska said she had tested positive for coronavirus but her husband and their two children had tested negative.

“Today I received a positive test for coronavirus. Unexpected news. Especially considering that I and my family continue to follow all the rules - masks, gloves, a minimum of contacts,” Zelenska wrote on Facebook.

She said she felt well and was not hospitalized, but was isolating from her husband and children.

The developments come as Ukraine has recorded its highest daily count of new coronavirus infections for the third day in a row, more than double the count earlier in the month.

The health ministry on Saturday reported 753 new cases, compared with 683 the previous day.

In early June, Ukraine was recording fewer than 350 new cases a day. Overall, Ukraine counts 30,506 confirmed infection cases and 880 deaths.

Zelenskiy on Friday urged the government to take immediate steps to find out why the number of coronavirus cases has been growing steeply in Ukraine over the past several days.

The findings will ultimately define whether the government will have to announce stricter measures to control the pandemic.

"We need to quickly establish the causes of the increase in morbidity. And before that, all relevant authorities should draw the attention of the population to the need to observe the mask and social distance on the street. I see that people walk without masks on the streets,” Zelenskiy said.

“Only strict adherence to safety measures will protect us from getting ill and save our economy from another quarantine,” Zelenskiy said.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has aired similar concerns on Thursday and Friday,

"If the growth [in the number of COVID-19 cases] dramatically grows in a critical number of regions (ten and more), this will cause a return to a strict quarantine," he said during a press conference on Thursday.

The prime minister also said that the government could postpone the upcoming local elections due in October if the situation becomes worse.

Viktor Liashko, the Health Ministry’s top doctor, said the increase may be attributed to the greater number of tests being done. Ukraine is currently running abut 20,000 tests per day. (rt/tl/ez)