Researchers from Turkey and Switzerland collaborated to study the nation-specific case fatality rates for COVID-19 caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The pandemic has affected around 33.5 million people worldwide and killed over 1 million making it one of the largest global health crises in recent memory.  This new study titled, “National case fatality rates of the COVID-19 pandemic” was published in the latest issue of the journal Clinical Microbiology and Infection.

What was the study about?

The SARS-CoV-2 leads to a varied range of illnesses ranging from mild respiratory illness to severe acute respiratory distress, leading to death. The authors of the study wrote that case fatality rates (CFR) of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) were 9.5% and 34.4%, respectively. The CFR for SARS CoV-2, however, is found to be much lower. The infectivity of this virus, however,