What the official COVID-19 mortality rate actually means
Old diseases are much easier to keep tabs on. (Pexels/)Follow all of PopSci’s COVID-19 coverage here, including travel advice, pregnancy concerns, and the latest findings on the virus itself.The World Health Organization announced this week that COVID-19 kills an average of 3.4 percent of patients, representing a significant increase over the previously estimated death rate of around 2 percent."Globally, about 3.4 percent of reported COVID-19 cases have died," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "By comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1 percent of those infected."On Wednesday, President Donald Trump told Fox News he estimated the death rate of COVID-19 at less than 1 percent, citing the mild symptoms common in most patients as evidence that many cases are going unreported. He also seemed to imply that many COVID-19 patients were able to go to work, which is probably true, but not advisable—anyone with upper respiratory symptoms should...