Coronavirus by the numbers, a closer look at infection and mortality rates

WASHINGTON (SBG) - By midday, Friday, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University, the United States had recorded more than 50,000 from the coronavirus outbreak.

"Statistically, we're doing phenomenally, in terms of mortality, in terms of all of the different elements that you can judge, said President Donald Trump, Thursday. "When you look, Germany and ourselves are doing very well."

When measured as a percentage of confirmed cases for a given country, America's death rate places the U.S. 33rd out of more than 130 countries monitored by Johns Hopkins.

Of the 10 countries with the highest numbers of cases, the U.S ranks second-lowest in its mortality rate.

"If you look at seven-day reporting, we are starting to go down. We have a long -- we had a long, flat peak, largely driven, of course, by New York, which is about 45 or so percent of the cases," said Ambassador Deborah Birx coordinator with the White House Coronavirus Task Force. "As New York goes down, so will the rest of the country have a decline, even more accelerated."

No uniform method exists for recording the number of people who have recovered from the coronavirus in part because many patients with only mild symptoms have recovered at home.

The website WorldoMeters.info reports close to 90,000 recoveries leaving no results at all reported for nearly 84% of the nation's 889,000 confirmed cases to date.

When asked about recovery rates, the numbers put forward by America's top health officials have varied.

"I see in the reports worldwide; we have a better than 55 -- a 50% recovery rate. Is that true? Right," said Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, during March 11 during a congressional hearing.

Dr. Robert Redfield of the Centers for Disease Control responded, "Right now we'd say it's probably about 85%, sir."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in an interview with “Face the Nation” March 15, discussed the mortality rate.

"[T]he recovery rate is minus what the mortality is, so if the mortality is 1%, it's 99% recovery rate," said Fauci.

The coronavirus is presently on track to exceed the number of annual deaths in the United States from the seasonal flu, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control, can range as high as 60,000.