Virus, South Korean carpet test. The real mortality rate? 0.6%

-> There are several factors that can affect the percentage of the Coronavirus mortality rate. As the Hong Kong website reports South China Morning Post indeed, scientists agree unanimously on the fact that, all things being equal, the data is much more reliable when many more people are tested. The latest news says that the infected with Coronavirus exceed 6,000 in South Korea, with the latest 322 new cases confirmed by the Seoul health authorities. Previously, 438 cases had been confirmed, which added to the cases reported today bring the total number of infections to 6,088 in the Asian country. 40 deaths have occurred in the country since the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic.

South Korea, among all infected countries, is providing the most robust data to public health experts around the world, potentially offering the most complete picture of the actual threat posed by Covid-19. From January 20 to February 20 Seoul has tested nearly 8000 people suspected of being infected. Just over a week later, that number had risen to 82,000 as health officials mobilized to perform 10,000 tests each day. In the United States, where the number of people infected has exceeded 100, health authorities have recently tested fewer than 500 people in total, hampered by legal and technical barriers to mass screening.

As the Hong Kong website reports South China Morning Post, experts warn that it is still too early to draw firm conclusions. But it is certain that the emerging picture in South Korea suggests that the virus may be less deadly than WHO says. “If we are able to test multiple people – regardless of whether they have no symptoms, mild or serious illnesses – the results, including the mortality rate, are more accurate and representative,” said David Hui Shu-cheong, medical expert. respiratory at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “Most countries focus only on testing hospitalized patients who obviously have a more serious situation and therefore the mortality rate is high.”

World Health Organization Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that the global mortality rate since Covid-19 recorded so far is around 3.4%, higher than previous estimates. Yet in South Korea the mortality rate appears to be hovering around 0.65%. Definitely more lethal than seasonal flu, which kills about 0.1% of the people it infects (30,000-40,000 people in the United States every year). Various factors may affect mortality rates, as mentioned, including the quality of a country’s healthcare system and the amount of public and medical knowledge on what to do in the event of an epidemic, but the number of people tested is one of the most influential. All other things being equal, the more people are tested, the more accurate the mortality rate will be.