The novel coronavirus seems to have a low fatality rate, and patients are making full recoveries. Experts reveal why it's causing panic anyway.
REUTERS/Martin Pollard
- The coronavirus outbreak that started in Wuhan, China, has sparked fear and anxiety around the world.
- Overall, the virus seems to have a low fatality rate so far: around 2%.
- People's psychological reactions to infectious diseases can sometimes be overblown and do more harm than good, some experts say.
- Still, health officials are urging preventative measures like increased handwashing and avoiding touching your face.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The coronavirus outbreak that riginated in Wuhan, China, in December has sparked fear and anxiety around the world.
The pneumonialike virus has infected more than 78,000 people and killed 1,875. So far, the virus appears to be more contagious but less deadly than SARS. Whereas the latter had a mortality rate of 9.6%, only 2.3% of people infected with the new coronavirus have died. (The number of people infected and the death toll have surpassed the SARS outbreak's eight-month total, however.) See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- The Wuhan coronavirus has killed more people in 6 weeks than SARS did in 8 months. Here's how the 2 outbreaks compare.
- The outbreaks of both the Wuhan coronavirus and SARS likely started in Chinese wet markets. Photos show what the markets look like.
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