COVID-19 fatality rate increases in UK
The United Kingdom reported a record 1,610 new fatalities from COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the country's weekly death toll to 8,267 -- a 19.8% increase over the previous week.
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The U.K. -- an island nation of 66 million people made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland -- has the fifth-highest number of confirmed deaths from COVID-19 worldwide, behind the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Despite the record death toll, the daily number of new cases is on the decline in the U.K. amid national lockdowns. The U.K. reported 33,355 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the weekly total to 302,802 -- a 22.3% decrease from the last week.
ABC News’ Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.