A RECORD 55 people were yesterday reported dead, a daily high for this year, as Malaysia tallied 31,199 fresh Covid-19 infections, the Health Ministry said.

This is the first time since the onset of the epidemic in 2020 that daily cases have surpassed the 30,000 mark. 

The country has been reporting high number of daily cases in the past week, largely contributed by the highly infectious Omicron variant. 

The previous high of 28,825 cases was reported last Saturday, February 19. 

The new infections bring the cumulative cases in the country to 3.3 million.

The Klang Valley region contributed bulk of the new infections, breaching 10,000 cases.

Selangor reported the most number of cases yesterday with 7,798, followed by Sabah (3,971) and Kedah (2,684).

Other states reporting new cases were Penang (2,575), Johor (2,281), Kuala Lumpur (2,186), Kelantan (2,135), Negri Sembilan (1,998), Pahang (1,560), Perak (1,222), Terengganu (773), Malacca (600), Labuan (499), Sarawak (424), Perlis (304) and Putrajaya (189).

Of the 55 deaths, 23 were declared dead on arrival (DOA). All deaths were backdated.

The latest fatalities bring the death toll to 32,488, of which 6,629 are DOA.

Selangor reported the highest number of deaths with 10, five of which are DOA.

Sabah was second on the list with nine fatalities, while election-bound Johor logged eight deaths.

Other states that reported new deaths were Perak, with seven; Kedah, Pahang and Malacca, with four each; Penang and Kuala Lumpur, with three each; and Kelantan, Negri Sembilan and Perlis, with one each.

No coronavirus-linked deaths were reported in Sarawak, Terengganu, Labuan or Putrajaya.

For the record, Malaysia’s highest deaths logged in a single day is 592, reported on September 11 last year.

The virus mortality rate is at 0.1%, while the two-week average for virus deaths stands at 11 per 10 million people. – February 24, 2022.