What are your chances of dying if you catch the coronavirus?

摘要

THE proportion of people who die after being infected by the coronavirus has become a highly controversial subject. Some have claimed that death rates aren't as high as thought and that governments are overreacting by imposing measures such as lockdowns. But a recent meta-analysis confirms earlier estimates, finding that the death rate can be as high as 16 per cent for people over 90, but is o per cent for children under 4. This study concludes that in high-income countries, more than 1 in 100 people infected by the coronavirus died in the first wave. "The death rate is at least 10 or 20 times higher than flu," says Nicholas Brazeau at Imperial College London.