THE Health Ministry reported 29 new Covid-19 deaths yesterday, an increase from the 18 fatalities reported the day before.

The GitHub raw data repository showed that all the fatalities reported yesterday, including the seven dead on arrival (DOA), were backlog cases.

The latest figures brought the national death toll to 31,073, while the cumulative total under the DOA category was at 6,282.

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

Perak reported seven deaths yesterday, the most among any other states and territories.

The Klang Valley had reported eight deaths in total yesterday, while Selangor reported six and Kuala Lumpur two. Putrajaya did not report any new fatalities.

Other states reporting deaths were Sabah (4), Penang and Kedah (3 each), Johor, Malacca, Pahang and Sarawak (1 each).

Besides Putrajaya, there were also no coronavirus-linked deaths in Kelantan, Negri Sembilan, Perlis, Terengganu and Labuan.

Of the eight DOA cases, three occurred in Sabah, Selangor (2), Perak and Kuala Lumpur (1 each).

The local virus fatality rate stood at 0.7%, while the national average for Covid-19 deaths was 11 per population of a million. – December 19, 2021.