On February 4th, Jiao Yahui, deputy director of the Medical and Health Care Administration Bureau of the Chinese Health and Medical Commission, said that as of 24:00 on February 3rd, the nationwide case fatality rate was 2.1%. The fatality rate of confirmed cases in Hubei Province is 3.1%, and the fatality rate of confirmed cases in Wuhan is 4.9%. If Hubei is excluded, the fatality rate in other provinces is 0.16%. According to Michael Ryan, WHO's executive director of health emergencies, the 2% case fatality rate remains a tricky case fatality rate compared to the case fatality rate of seasonal flu or other diseases.
A retrospective study published January 29 in The Lancet showed that COVID-19 infection is more likely to affect older men with comorbidities, and that older age, obesity and comorbidities may be associated with increased mortality.
Although no conclusion can be reached on the mortality rate, the academic community generally believes that the mortality rate of this virus is much lower than the other two coronaviruses: MERS with a mortality rate of one third and SARS with a mortality rate of about one tenth. From a clinical perspective, MERS and SARS appear to be more damaging to lung tissue.
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