Hospitalizations Rise in Coronavirus Surge, but Death Rate Is Much Lower Than It Once Was

Coronavirus cases are rising again here in the US, as well as in multiple other countries in Europe. Many experts had expected the virus to surge again when the weather cooled down.

Last week the seven-day average for new COVID cases hit its highest level on record with 16 states also hitting record hospitalizations.

The only bright spot in an otherwise dreary outlook for COVID is that the death rate is much lower now.

CBN News Medical Correspondent Lorie Johnson says the drop in the death rate is very clear among those who have been hospitalized. "The death rate has really gone down from 25 percent down to 7 percent.  These are people who are hospitalized for coronavirus. So that's down 18 percent, and that's wonderful news," she explained.

Johnson says improved therapeutics and treatments are helping decrease the death rate. The broader percentage has also gotten better as the number of people tested increases. Right now Johnson says there are about a million people tested each day in the US.

"The death rate is based on how many people test positive, out of that number how many people die from it and at the very beginning of the pandemic usually the only people who were tested were those who were very sick, and reported to the hospital." 

For young people, 99.9 percent of them recover just fine from the virus.

Still, the increasing number of cases is putting a strain on many hospitals with some not having enough space or staff to handle new patients.

Data from the COVID Tracking Project shows that nationwide, in cases where race is known, black people are dying at 2.3 times the rate of white people. And while those who live in nursing homes make up 1 percent of the population, they make up 41 percent of COVID deaths.