THE Health Ministry reported 43 new Covid-19 deaths yesterday, an increase from the 19 fatalities reported a day earlier. 

According to the ministry’s GitHub raw data repository, eight were dead on arrival (DOA), double the number reported yesterday. 

All fatalities were backlog cases. The national death toll now stands at 31,135, while the cumulative total under the DOA category is 6,290.

The daily death figure is the sum total of the number of reported deaths on the day plus backlog cases only just confirmed by the health authorities to be due to Covid-19.

Penang recorded the highest number of deaths yesterday at 10, followed by Johor (6), Kedah (5), Kelantan, Sabah and Terengganu (4 each), Pahang (2), Malacca, Negri Sembilan and Perlis (1 each). 

The Klang Valley had five deaths in total yesterday – three in Selangor, and one each in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. 

There were no coronavirus-linked deaths in Perak, Labuan and Sarawak.

Of the eight DOA cases, four occurred in Johor, and one each in Kelantan, Penang, Sabah and Terengganu. 

The local virus fatality rate remained at 0.7%, and the national average for Covid-19 deaths stayed at 11 per population of a million. – December 21, 2021.