M1F- How Deadly is the Coronavirus?
How Deadly is the Coronavirus?
Based on data from 44,000 patients with this coronavirus, the WHO says:
- 81% develop mild symptoms.
- 14% develop severe symptoms.
- 5% become critically ill.
The proportion dying from the disease appears low (between 1% and 2%) but the figures are unreliable. Thousands are still being treated but may go on to die – so the death rate could be higher. But it is also unclear how many mild cases remain unreported – so the death rate could also be lower. To put this into context, about one billion people catch influenza every year, with between 290,000 and 650,000 deaths.

