An outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) has started in Ukraine, Minister of Health Viktor Liashko has said.

"In Ukraine, some 18,479 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 have already been recorded yesterday. This indicates that an outbreak has started in the country," he said at a briefing on Thursday.

Liashko said that the epicenter of the outbreak is Western Ukraine.

"The most complicated epidemiological situation is in Ivano-Frankivsk region. Negative dynamics is already observed in Chernivtsi, Lviv and Ternopil regions," the minister said.