Coronavirus Pandemic Hits 1 Million – But What’s the Real Death Rate?
The coronavirus pandemic rages on - doubling in a week - to hit one million confirmed infections worldwide. However, some countries are suffering a higher death rate than others. | Source: West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara
- The coronavirus has now infected over one million people around the world as social distancing measures fail to halt the pandemic.
- Europe and the United States remain the new epicenter of the disease with thousands of additional deaths reported every day.
- The confirmed coronavirus death rate in several European countries has hit nearly 10% as socialized healthcare systems collapse under the pressure.
The coronavirus pandemic is beginning to look unstoppable. Despite massive lockdowns around the globe, the number of infected continues to grow at an exponential rate. And as the caseload soars above one million – doubling in a week – humanity may be on the verge of the deadliest viral crisis since the 1918 Spanish Flu.
As the number of infected continues to rise, so do the dead. The virus’s hotspot has shifted from Wuhan China to Europe and North America with Spain, Italy, and France facing death rates that near 10%. In the United States, New York City alone reports a staggering 51,000 confirmed infections. And the disease has spread to every major American city with hotspots developing in Chicago, New Orleans, and Detroit.
The United States is the New Epicenter of Coronavirus
The coronavirus pandemic has shifted to the United States as mass lockdowns and travel restrictions fail to halt the spread of the deadly infection. With a staggering 245,375 confirmed cases , the United States is by far the most coronavirus infected nation on earth.
The American outbreak is still concentrated in New York state which makes up around one in three of the total confirmed caseload.
New York City, in particular, reports 51,809 cases — 1,562 of which have ended in death , giving the outbreak a case fatality rate of around 3% which is in line with WHO forecasts.
America’s most highly infected states are as follows:
New York: 92,743 cases and 2468 deaths: 2.67% death rate
New Jersey: 25,590 cases and 537 deaths 2.10% death rate
California: 11,112 cases and 243 deaths 2.19% death rate
Michigan: 10,791 cases and 417 deaths 3.86% death rate
Despite its ultra-high infection rates, the United States has managed to keep its death rates in the 1-3% range. 6,095 Americans have died so far . But this is a relatively small fraction of the total confirmed infections suggesting that the nation’s robust healthcare system and industrial prowess are giving it an edge compared to other industrialized countries in Europe.
The Outbreak in Europe is Getting Deadlier by the Day
Europe, the second major epicenter of coronavirus, is seeing its caseload rapidly grow along with its death rate. Adjusted for population, the European Union reports significantly more infections than the United States. And its socialized healthcare systems seem to be collapsing under the pressure.
The most highly infected areas in Europe are as follows:
Italy: 115,242 cases and 13,915 deaths 12.07% death rate
Spain: 112,065 cases and 10,348 deaths 9.23% death rate
Germany: 84,794 cases and 1,107 deaths 1.3% death rate
France: 59,105 cases and 5,387 deaths 9.1% death rate
You read that correctly. Italy has a 12.07% death rate for confirmed coronavirus cases. This makes the country’s outbreak deadlier than SARS (another Chinese virus which had an 11% death rate ). Shockingly, Spain and France are not far behind, despite their supposedly well-developed healthcare systems.
Germany, along with Norway, buck the trend with remarkably low death rates of 1.3% and 0.9% respectively. This may be because of widespread testing or better-developed healthcare systems.
China and the Rest of the World
Despite its history of false official data, China seems to have recovered from the coronavirus pandemic. Although it was the original epicenter of the deadly disease, the Asian nation only reported 35 additional cases on Thursday — most from overseas as Chinese nationals rush back to their home country to escape high infection rates in other parts of the world.
South Korea and Japan have managed to slow down their coronavirus outbreaks with South Korea only reporting 89 additional cases on Thursday and Japan reporting 233 cases.
Major population centers like India and Pakistan continue to report relatively low numbers of coronavirus cases with 2,567 and 2,450 confirmed cases respectively despite their large populations. South America and Africa also report a low caseload. Although, this could change as undetected community transmission continues around the world.
