Kiev, Mar 5 (IANS): A third wave of the coronavirus pandemic has started in Ukraine, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

"Every day we see an increase in the number of patients, unfortunately, it should be noted that the third wave of the epidemic in Ukraine has begun," Xinhua news agency quoted Shmyhal as saying on Thursday to Interfax-Ukraine.

Shmyhal noted that the Ukrainian authorities would reintroduce a nationwide lockdown if most of the regions go into the "red" zone of epidemiological danger.

The Prime Minister's statement followed data showing that on Thursday the daily increase in Covid-19 cases exceeded 10,000 in Ukraine for the first time since the beginning of this year.

Cases have been increasing across the country over the past week against the backdrop of the coronavirus vaccination campaign which started on February 24.

According to the Ministry of Health, 9,568 people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus with the first dose as of Wednesday.

A total of 1,374,762 Covid-19 cases and 26,591 deaths have been registered in Ukraine so far, while 1,182,036 patients have recovere.