MALAYSIA saw a record number of Covid-19 daily deaths after reporting 18 fatalities in the past 24 hours, raising the overall death toll to 660.

The previous highest number of deaths recorded in a single day was 16 on January 8.

Director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah also said Malaysia reported 3,631 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the caseload to 176,180 while active cases rose to 42,814.

Selangor topped the tally with 782 cases followed by Johor and Sabah with 466 and 453 cases respectively.

On recoveries, Noor Hisham said 2,554 people were discharged from hospitals after recovering in the past 24 hours.

With this, he said the total number of recoveries from the coronavirus now stands at 132,706.

Meanwhile, 251 patients are currently warded in the Intensive Care Unit, of whom 102 require respiratory support. 

Selangor saw the greatest number of deaths today with nine cases, followed by Sabah with three cases while Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak each reported two cases.

Johor and Penang, on the other hand, saw one case each.

The oldest death was that of a 93-year-old man in Sarawak while the youngest was a 32-year-old man in Selangor.

Both the deceased had a history of chronic illness.  – January 22, 2021.