The death toll of Covid-19 reported on a daily basis in Malaysia has been high in recent weeks because the figure includes backlog cases, according to the health authorities.

More than 400 deaths were reported as at Tuesday (Sept 14), but health minister said that only three of these occurred on that day. The remainder, it said on Wednesday, had taken place earlier but was reported late due to the backlog.

Due to the hike in deaths reported on Saturday that represented 592 case of death, the fifth-highest daily toll in the world, Public concern was sparked.

The ministry later clarified that the actual number of deaths on the day was 100.

Last week, on Sept 9, the ministry launched CovidNow, an online platform that includes daily data based on time of death, instead of when fatalities are confirmed, which was what had apparently caused the backlog and drove up the daily numbers.

Data from the portal shows actual daily deaths, based on a seven-day average, was 104 as of Tuesday, down from 128 recorded the previous day and the figure has been declining since Sept 1, when it stood at 233. The portal was set up to provide transparency and at least one expert has said that efforts should be made to reduce the backlog.

The reason behind the declining death rates comes as more people are vaccinated. The percentage of fully vaccinated adults in the country reached over 75 percent

Nevertheless, the fact that past cases are being reported only now also means that the actual death toll was higher than stated in official figures for previous months. Taking Aug 1 as an example, the number of daily reported deaths was 160, but the ministry’s updated figures show that it was 295.