By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
haxxiy on 14 March 2020
Edit Thread
Mnementh said:
Angelus said:
I think we can look to South Korea for a more accurate representation of the real death rate of this virus. They've done incredibly broad testing on their population, and their mortality for it is around 0.6%. This, of course, is still magnitudes higher than the flu, but it's also far from the percentages we see thrown around in the media.

There is another factor in there: how much the health system is overloaded. COVID-19 has around 20% extreme cases, which needs intensive care. If treated properly because enough resources (like breathing machines) are available, than the mortality rate can be low. If the health system is run over by cases the mortality spikes. In countries like Italy and in Wuhan we see up to 5% mortality (other regions of China also had around 0.5%-0.7% mortality).

Another problem is long term effects. There is indication that more serious cases leave permanent damage to the lungs.

Italy's mortality rate is similar to other countries adjusted by age, the deteced cases there are just that old.

And yes, some permanent damage to the lungs is what happens to almost everyone who has to contend with a month of pneumonia. Injuries leave scars, even at the cellular level.

Edit - yay for DP?