COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) risk of Pandemic

A recent article estimated the case fatality rate (CFR) 5.3% and 8.4%. While the severity of COVID-19 is not as high as that of other diseases caused by coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which had an estimated CFR of 17% in Hong Kong, and Middle East respiratory syndrome, which had an estimated CFR of 20% in South Korea, a 5%–8% risk of death is by no means insignificant. Further, there is strong possibility of presymptomatic transmission with a substantial impact on public health response to the epidemic as well as overall predictability of the epidemic during the containment stage