“15% fatality rate” from coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection was based only on initial cases; infection fatality rate likely less than 3%
The 15% fatality rate from coronavirus (2019-nCoV) applied only to the initial cluster of 41 patients with confirmed infection and severe symptoms, as reported in The Lancet. Coronavirus infections can also produce mild symptoms, which likely went undetected. The mortality rate based on a group of more than 800 patients with laboratory-confirmed infection suggests that the fatality rate is closer to 3%.