The percentage of people who die after testing positive for the coronavirus is rising even as thousands of new U.S. cases are identified each day, a troubling preview of the weeks and months that lie ahead.
Epidemiologists and experts say increased case fatality rates are a natural function of a deadly virus running its course: The people who succumb today were probably infected as long as a month ago, when the number of cases began accelerating.
“As the epidemic picks up and you see a sudden rise [in cases], deaths will be very low,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Prevention at the University of Minnesota. “It’s just new onsets. And then as they work through the process, becoming severely ill, becoming hospitalized, being in the ICU and then dying, it’s a long-term process of three or up to four weeks.” Continue reading.