UK reports 2nd highest daily virus death toll

The UK reported its second-highest daily coronavirus death toll of 1,243 on Tuesday.

The country's fatality count since the start of the pandemic now stands at 83,203, according to latest government figures.

A total of 45,533 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours raised the overall tally to 3,164,051.

At a news briefing, Home Secretary Priti Patel stressed the need for the public to better adhere to lockdown restrictions, following increasing reports in local media about people flouting rules.

"You have helped to stop the spread of the virus and save lives," Patel said.

However, she warned that police officers "are moving more quickly to issue fines where people are clearly breaching coronavirus regulations."

Over 45,000 fines have been issued so far, she added.

"If you do not play your part, our selfless police officers... they will enforce the regulations, and I will back them to do so," said Patel.

The government also confirmed that, starting Friday, anyone traveling to England from overseas must have a negative COVID-19 test result no older than 72 hours.

People who do not fulfill the requirement will be fined £500 ($681).