KYIV, Nov 4 - The situation with the coronavirus in Ukraine is close to catastrophic and the nation must prepare for the worst, Reuters reported on Tuesday citing health minister Maksym Stepanov.

Ukraine registered a record 8,899 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the ministry said, up from the Oct. 30 high of 8,312. Total infections stood at 411,093 by Tuesday with 7,532 deaths.