The latest coronavirus death rate is 3.4% — higher than earlier figures. Older patients face the highest risk – By Rosie Perper (Business Insider) / March 3 2020
- The global death rate for the novel coronavirus based on the latest figures is 3.4% — higher than earlier figures of about 2%.
- In contrast, the seasonal flu kills 0.1% of those infected.
- A patient’s risk of death from COVID-19 varies depending on age and preexisting health conditions.
- Though the latest numbers mark an increase in mortality, experts have predicted that the fatality rate of COVID-19 could decrease as the number of confirmed cases rises.
The latest global death rate for the novel coronavirus is 3.4% — higher than earlier figures of about 2%.
The coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China, has killed more than 3,100 people and infected nearly 93,000 as of Tuesday. The virus causes a disease known as COVID-19.
Speaking at a media briefing, the World Health Organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noted that the death rate was far higher than that of the seasonal flu, which kills about 0.1% of those infected.
The death rate is likely to change further as more cases are confirmed, though experts predict that the percentage of deaths will decrease in the longer term since milder cases of COVID-19 are probably going undiagnosed.
“There’s another whole cohort that is either asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic,” Anthony Fauci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at a briefing last month. “We’re going to see a diminution in the overall death rate.”
Continue to article: https://www.yahoo.com/news/confirmed-coronavirus-death-rate-3-020009251.html
