A total of 388 people have died in Ukraine of flu and acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) as of Monday evening, the ex-Soviet state's Health Ministry said.

The ministry said eight people died over the past 24 hours.

The flu epidemic started in Ukraine in late October, with about 1,636,000 people contracting the disease since the outbreak start.

As regards swine flu, the number of officially confirmed deaths in the country was earlier reported to reach 17, with 255 people infected.

Ukrainian health officials say the situation has stabilized, and that quarantine measures imposed by the government in nine western provinces in late October in an attempt to curb the spread of flu may be lifted soon.

In early November, Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council chief Raisa Bohatyryova said there were "constitutional prerequisites" for a state of emergency amid the flu epidemic.

The Ukrainian parliament has approved the allocation of 1 billion hryvnias ($125 million) for measures to fight swine and seasonal flu.

However, President Viktor Yushchenko, who earlier requested help from other countries to stem the flu outbreak, has not signed the allocation plan, saying it would accelerate inflation and cause a decline in Ukraine's standard of living.

KIEV, November 23 (RIA Novosti)