...most of us should survive this.

More than half of coronavirus patients globally have recovered
By Natalie O'Neill March 4, 2020 | 2:51pm | Updated

The coronavirus death toll is climbing worldwide — but so is its recovery rate.

More than 50,000 people globally have bounced back from the flu-like illness since it was first reported in December, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Of the more than 94,000 total cases reported as of Wednesday afternoon, more than 51,000 people have recovered, the vast majority of whom are in China, where the virus originated, according to the university.

In total, its tracker showed the deadly virus, also known as COVID-19, has been reported in 73 countries, including the US.

In Iran, where 2,922 cases have emerged, 552 people have recovered. The recovery rate in the US, where there have been 126 cases, was not immediately clear.

People who don’t suffer from underlying conditions and are not elderly are generally expected to recover, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Saturday.

“However, every once in a while you’re going to see a 25-year-old person, who looks otherwise well, that’s going to get seriously ill. But the vast majority of people who get into trouble do have these underlying conditions,” Fauci said.
Coronavirus recovery rates expected to be high, health experts say
By Kate Sheehy March 3, 2020 | 5:48pm | Updated


A pedestrian wears a face mask in Manhattan.Stephen Yang

So here’s the good news about the coronavirus.

The average healthy person who gets the virus might suffer a dry cough, fatigue and fever and be sidelined for a week or two, experts said Tuesday.

But after that, they should be fine.

“You stay at home, you’re not going out, and if it gets more serious, you check in’’ at a medical facility or go to the ER, Manhattanville College Professor Anna Yeung-Cheung said of patients.

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t be cautious,’’ she said. “I’m saying you shouldn’t go too crazy, like, ‘I’m dying.’”

Dr. Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, predicted that the recovery percentage rate for the virus would likely reach “the high 90s.”

“One of the problems with this is it’s an evolving scenario, and people jump to the worst-case scenario,” said Siegel, also medical director of SiriusXM’s Doctor Radio.

“It’s too much doomsday stuff.”

He said that at the end of the day, he expects the coronavirus death rate to be under 1 percent, albeit “a little worse” than the flu.

Of the more than 92,000 people who’ve contracted the virus worldwide, mainly in China, nearly 49,000 have already recovered, while about 3,130 have died. Siegel said that as more cases inevitably surface, this will bring the survival figure up and the death percentage down.

Yeung-Cheung said, “Each virus is like people — they have their personality.

“The interesting thing about this virus is it’s not that difficult to kill, like Ebola and norovirus,” using a little Clorox solution or Purell, she said.

The microbiologist added that the virus is unique in that the very young are faring better than they usually do with their compromised immune systems.

“That’s a blessing in a way,” Yeung-Cheung said. “On the other hand, that means they can also [silently] carry it.’’