COVID-19 fatality rate falls sharply in second wave

The novel coronavirus fatality rate in The Bahamas has fallen to around 1.6 percent, even though more deaths have been reported in the second wave, the Ministry of Health explained over the weekend.

The first wave saw a fatality rate of 10.57 percent among 104 cases.

The worldwide fatality rate is around 3.5 percent.

The ministry said the drop can be attributed to a rise in the number of positive cases.

“During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which spanned from mid-March to late June 2020, there were 11 deaths – seven males and four females,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Eight of these deaths occurred in New Providence, two in Grand Bahama and one in Bimini.

“During that time, the case fatality rate was set at 10.57 percent.

“The case fatality rate is a measure of the deadliness of a disease.

“It is calculated by dividing the number of cases that have died from COVID-19 by the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

“During the first wave, the case fatality rate for The Bahamas appeared to be higher than many other countries in the region.

“For this second wave, the first two deaths were recorded on 30th July 2020.

“Since then, there have been 16 deaths on record within the space of seven weeks.

“The case fatality rate now stands at 1.58 percent.

“Although the number of deaths at this time is somewhat comparable to the first wave, The Bahamas has experienced many more confirmed COVID-19 cases during the second wave.”

The COVID-19 death toll now stands at 29 among 1,765 cases.

On Friday, the ministry reported five additional deaths – a single-day record.

Four of those were said to be deaths as a result of COVID-19, while one was said to be a death not related to COVID-19 of a person who may have tested positive for the disease.

Those reported deceased from COVID-19 that day were a 71-year-old New Providence woman, a 54-year-old Abaco woman, a 45-year-old Eleuthera man and a woman from New Providence whose age was not specified.

On Saturday, the ministry reported two additional COVID-19 deaths – a 45-year-old woman and 63-year-old woman, both of whom were from New Providence.

The ministry said more details regarding COVID-19 cases would be discussed in a joint press conference today.

source https://thenassauguardian.com/covid-19-fatality-rate-falls-sharply-in-second-wave/