KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 — Malaysia recorded 61 Covid-19 deaths today, the most since the 59 registered on May 20.
In a statement, Health director-general Tan Sri Noor Hisham Abdullah said the deceased were all Malaysians.
The deaths occurred in Selangor (16), Johor (11), Melaka and Penang (six), Kuala Lumpur (five), Kedah (four), and Sarawak, Negri Sembilan and Pahang (three each), Terengganu (two) and Perak and Labuan (one respectively).
Most of the deceased had a history of chronic illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease and heart problems.
On May 20, Malaysia lost 59 patients, setting a sharply higher record for the most Covid-19 deaths over 24 hours. The country simultaneously reported what was then the most number of new cases — 6,075 — in a single day.
The previous record for deaths in a 24-hour period was set just two before May 20, where 47 people died.
After today, the nationwide death toll from Covid-19 is now 2,309. At the start of the year, it was 471.
Today, Malaysia also added 6,509 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the country’s cumulative figure to 518,600 since the start of the pandemic here last year.
