COVID-19 Death Rate by Percentage, Sex, Pre-existing Condition
Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2020/03/14 - Updated: 2023/10/04
Publication Type: Announcement / Notification
Topic: Coronavirus Information - Publications List
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main
Synopsis: Facts and statistics tables regarding the current mortality rate from contracting the COVID-19 Coronavirus. Globally, 5,821 people have died so far from the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak as of March 14, 2020, 23:05 GMT.
Introduction
The new COVID-19 coronavirus is not an equal-opportunity killer. Being elderly and having other illnesses, for instance, greatly increases the risk of dying from the disease the virus causes - It is also possible that being male could put you at increased risk.
Main Item
Age, however, doesn't tell the whole story about who is at risk of severe disease. In fact, it reveals the underlying vulnerabilities in the wider population to an illness like Covid-19. Many of these factors are concentrated among older adults, but younger people with certain underlying health problems are also at risk. (60% of Americans have at least one chronic condition; 40% have more than one.)
Total Coronavirus COVID-19 Deaths to Date
Globally, 5,821 people have died so far from the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak as of March 14, 2020, 23:05 GMT.
Average Number of Days from First Symptom to Death
The Wang et al. February 7 study published on JAMA found that the median time from first symptom to dyspnea was 5.0 days, to hospital admission was 7.0 days, and to ARDS was 8.0 days. The JANA study found that, among those discharged alive, the median hospital stay was 10 days.
Globally, about 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have died.
By comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1% of those infected. Initially, the World Health Organization (WHO) had mentioned 2% as a mortality rate estimate in a press conference on Wednesday, January 29th and again on February 10th. However, on January 29th WHO specified that this was a very early and provisional estimate that might have changed. Surveillance was increasing, within China but also globally.
"Globally, about 3.4 percent of reported COVID-19 cases have died," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press briefing. The rate describes the proportion of deaths among confirmed cases. It was greater than the previous coronavirus CFR estimate (2% in China), far higher than the seasonal flu (which kills 0.1% of those infected on average), and even worse than the Spanish flu pandemic (which killed an estimated 2% to 3% of those infected).
The tables below are based on 72,314 confirmed, suspected, and asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 in China as of Feb. 11, 2020 as published in the Chinese Journal of Epidemiology.
In China, the overall CFR was higher in the early stages of the outbreak (17.3% for cases with symptom onset from 1-10 January) and has reduced over time to 0.7% for patients with symptom onset after 1 February.
COVID-19 Mortality Rates by Age - Chinese CDC
| COVID-19 Mortality Rates by Age | |
|---|---|
| Age 0 to 9 | 0% Mortality Rate |
| Age 10 to 19 | 0.2% Mortality Rate |
| Age 20 to 29 | 0.2% Mortality Rate |
| Age 30 to 39 | 0.2% Mortality Rate |
| Age 40 to 49 | 0.4% Mortality Rate |
| Age 50 to 59 | 1.3% Mortality Rate |
| Age 60 to 69 | 3.6% Mortality Rate |
| Age 70 to 79 | 8% Mortality Rate |
| Age 80+ | 14.8% Mortality Rate |
The vast majority of cases in China (87%) were in people ages 30 to 79, the China Center for Disease Control reported last month based on data from all 72,314 of those diagnosed with Covid-19 as of Feb. 11. That probably reflects something about biology more than lifestyle, such as being in frequent contact with other people.
Teens and people in their 20s also encounter many others, at school and work and on public transit, yet they don't seem to be contracting the disease at significant rates:
- Only 8.1% of cases were 20-somethings
- 1.2% were teens
- 0.9% were 9 or younger
The World Health Organization mission to China found that 78% of the cases reported as of Feb. 20 were in people ages 30 to 69.
COVID-19 Fatality Rate by Comorbidity
(The simultaneous presence of two chronic diseases or conditions in a patient)
| Coronavirus COVID-19 Fatality Rate by Comorbidity | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Existing Condition | Death Rate Confirmed cases | Death Rate All cases |
| Cardiovascular disease | 13.2% | 10.5% |
| Diabetes | 9.2% | 7.3% |
| Chronic respiratory disease | 8.0% | 6.3% |
| Hypertension | 8.4% | 6.0% |
| Cancer | 7.6% | 5.6% |
| No pre-existing conditions | 0.9% | |
COVID-19 Death Rate by Sex
| COVID-19 Death Rate by Sex | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sex | Death Rate confirmed cases | Death Rate All cases |
| Male | 4.7% | 2.8% |
| Female | 2.8% | 1.7% |
References:
Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) [Pdf] - World Health Organization, Feb. 28th, 2020.
The Epidemiological Characteristics of an Outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) - China CCDC, February 17th 2020.
Age, Sex, Existing Conditions of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths, March 14th, 2020.
Author Credentials: Ian was born and grew up in Australia. Since then, he has traveled and lived in numerous locations and currently resides in Montreal, Canada. Ian is the founder, a writer, and editor in chief for Disabled World. Ian believes in the Social Model of Disability, a belief developed by disabled people in the 1970s. The social model changes the focus away from people's impairments and towards removing barriers that disabled people face daily. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and achievements, check out his bio.