MALAYSIA reported 18 new Covid-19 deaths as of midnight, with one classified as dead on arrival, the Health Ministry reported.

The new fatalities brought the coronavirus death toll to 31,044.

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.

According to the ministry’s Github raw data repository, Perak logged the most deaths, at seven.

Other states and territories that reported deaths were Selangor (3), Kelantan (2), Negri Sembilan (2), Sabah (2), Johor (1) and Perlis (1).

No new deaths were reported elsewhere.

The Covid-19 fatality rate stands at 0.7%. – December 18, 2021.