While the World Health Organization has put the death rate from novel coronavirus, COVID-19, at 3.4%, a study in Nature Medicine put it much lower, at 1.4%. The fact is, with many cases going unreported and untested, mild and asymptomatic cases may not be included in official COVID-19 death rate figures, which could skew the death rate significantly, making it appear higher than it actually is.
In Italy, however — the “new” epicenter for COVID-19 — the number of deaths reportedly overtook those in China by mid- to late March 2020.