THERE were 18 Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest number of fatalities recorded in almost three months, said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The director-general of health said the previous high of 25 deaths was reported on February 18.

Daily covid-19 cases dropped below 3,000 today as the nation recorded 2,500 fresh infections in the past 24 hours, taking the overall caseload to 417,512, said Dr Noor Hisham.

Selangor once again recorded the most number of fresh infections by state with 637 cases, followed by Kelantan with 401 cases and Sarawak completing the top three with 356 cases.

Perlis and Labuan did not report any cases in the past 24 hours.

Selangor also tops the overall case chart with 135,486 cases, followed by Sabah (58,372) and Johor (46,105). 

Of today’s fatalities, 17 were Malaysians and one was a female foreigner, aged 49.

Seven deaths were reported in Selangor, three in Kuala Lumpur, two each in Sarawak and Kelantan, and one each in Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Johor and Sabah.

The oldest victim was a 87-year-old woman, who succumed to the disease in Sarawak, while the youngest victim, a male, aged 29, died in Kelantan.

Besides this, Noor Hisham said 2,069 recoveries were recorded today, taking the number of active cases to 30,753.

Of active cases, the number of patients admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) increased to 352, while 186 of them needed respiratory support. – May 3, 2021.