Measuring the burden of Covid-19 by seeing how many deaths it has caused.
What is the death rate?
Covid-19 has infected over 30 lakh people in 185 countries and regions.
It has killed close to 2.1 lakh people.
The countries have reported very different case fatality ratios (CFR),
[CFR - The number of deaths divided by the number of confirmed cases]
What are the factors on which CFR depends?
Number of people tested - Testing rates have been different in different countries.
India continues to be among the countries where testing is widely seen to be inadequate.
More aggressive testing identifies more asymptomatic infected persons, and people with milder, less noticeable symptoms.
Since CFR relies on the number of confirmed cases (not the total number of cases), more testing lowers the ratio.
Demography - As a general principle, any virus poses a greater threat to those with weaker immunities.
A vast majority of deaths from Covid-19 have been of people with co-morbid conditions.
Older people are more vulnerable to the virus.
Strength and capacity of healthcare systems - This matter greatly.
Countries like Italy or Spain saw their hospitals overwhelmed, and unable to adequately care for the flood of patients.
In India, the resources are limited and critical care capacities constrained.
So, the danger from an uncontrolled spread is much greater.
What are some facts?
In absolute number - The US carries the greatest burden of Covid-19, accounting for nearly a third of all cases.
Spain and Italy follow, together accounting for over 14% of global cases.
In terms of observed CFR - According to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus resource centre dashboard, the highest mortality is in Belgium (15.4%).
It is followed by France (14.1%) and the UK and Italy (13.5% each).
The CFR of the US is 5.7%.
In terms of deaths per 1 lakh population - Belgium’s deaths per 1 lakh population are 62.11, the highest in the world.
It is followed by Spain (49.63), Italy (44.09) and France (34.17).
