KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 — Covid-19 deaths in the country soared to 199 in the last 24 hours, a new record, just a day after Hari Raya Haji.

The Health Ministry’s (MOH) tweet shows the cumulative death toll now stands at 7,440, with 421 lives lost since Monday alone.

The number of Covid-19 related deaths has remained above 100 deaths a day since last week, with a slight dip yesterday when 93 fatalities were reported.

MOH director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in his statement later detailed how 33 deaths reported today were of those brought in dead and later tested positive for Covid-19.

His statement also detailed how there were deaths in every state except Labuan, the highest being Selangor with 84 deaths, followed by Kuala Lumpur with 57 deaths, Melaka with 16 and Kedah with 12 fatalities.

Negri Sembilan reported seven deaths, Pahang and Johor with six deaths each, three in Terengganu, two each in Kelantan, Penang and Perak, and one death reported in Sabah and Sarawak respectively.

Out of the 199 deaths, Dr Noor Hisham said 173 involved Malaysians with 26 who were non-locals, with 157 of the fatalities involving patients that exhibited pre-existing health conditions.