Thirty people have died of hypothermia in the Ukraine over the past five days as the country has suffered a severe spell of cold weather, the emergency services ministry said Tuesday.

Most were homeless people who froze to death on the streets, while four were found dead in their homes, and over 600 people sought medical help for frostbite and hypothermia.

Authorities have opened 1,590 shelters to provide food and heat, and are planning to set up 150 more, as temperatures plunge to minus 28 degrees Celsius (minus 18 degrees Fahrenheit) in some regions.

Over 3,000 schools were temporarily closed, and more than 400,000 children sent on unscheduled vacation, the education ministry said Tuesday.