Fatality statistics could change as the coronavirus spreads around the globe, however.
"If indeed we discover that there are far more cases than are actually being reported — and that one of the primary reasons for this is that we're just not detecting asymptomatic or mild or moderately symptomatic cases that don't end up seeking healthcare — then our estimates for the case fatality rate will likely decrease," Lauren Ancel Meyers, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas at Austin, told Business Insider.
In total, COVID-19 has killed more than 4,000 people and infected more than 116,000. It originated in Wuhan, central China's most populous city, and has since spread to more than 100 other countries. About 70% of cases are on the Chinese mainland.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misclassified the death rate included in the study as the mortality rate.
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