As U.S. coronavirus fatality rate rises to 5 percent, experts are still trying to understand how deadly this virus is

NOTE:  Free article from The Washington Post.

With government officials debating how and when to reopen the economy, a fundamental question about the coronavirus pandemic remains unanswered: Just how deadly is this disease?

The “case fatality rate” of covid-19 varies wildly from country to country and even within nations from week to week. In Germany, fewer than 3 in 100 people with confirmed infections have died. In Italy, the rate is almost five times higher, according to official figures.

Singapore, renowned for its careful testing, contact tracing and isolation of patients, experienced only 10 deaths out of 4,427 cases through Thursday. That yields a strikingly low case fatality rate of 0.2 percent, about twice the rate of seasonal influenza. Continue reading.