KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — Malaysia recorded the deaths of another 23 Malaysian Covid-19 patients today, bringing the country’s death toll so far from the disease to 1,574.

Today’s tally of Covid-19 deaths almost equalled the record number in February 2021, the most since the pandemic hit Malaysia in 2020.

Malaysia had hit a high of 24 deaths from Covid-19 on February 8, but this was eclipsed by the current record of 25 deaths reached on February 18.

Since February 18, the daily number of deaths had stayed below the figure 20, with today being the first time it has crossed over into more than 20 deaths.

The 23 deceased today were all Malaysians aged between 37 and 85, and all had pre-existing health conditions such as obesity, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and asthma.

Some of them were aged below 50, namely a man aged 37, a woman aged 41, a woman aged 44, a man aged 47, and a man aged 49.

Both Kelantan and Selangor recorded six of such deaths, while four were recorded in Sarawak, two each in Johor and Sabah, and one each in Kedah, Perak and Melaka.

Today, the Health Ministry’s latest data also showed that 338 Covid-19 patients are currently in the intensive care units (ICUs), with 181 requiring respiratory support.

A total of 17 new Covid-19 clusters were recorded today, namely seven involving the community, five involving the workplace, four involving the education sector (including one school, one education centre, two educational institutions) and one religious-linked cluster.

These new clusters were recorded in Sarawak, Johor, Kelantan, Kedah, Labuan, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Perak, and Sabah.