Ukraine has reported a record daily number of coronavirus-related deaths, while Bulgaria registered the highest daily rate of infections since the start of the pandemic, as European countries battle a new wave of COVID-19 cases.

Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said 342 people had died of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, a record number for the second day in a row. The previous high of 333 deaths was reported on March 23.

Stepanov said 14,174 new infections were reported over the past 24 hours. Ukraine has reported a total of 1,579,906 coronavirus cases and 30,773 deaths.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria reported 4,851 new infections over the past 24 hours, its highest daily tally on record.

The southeastern European country of 7 million people has recorded 312,741 cases since the start of the pandemic, including 12,307 deaths.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters