What are the chances of dying if you are infected with the coronavirus?

By Michael le page

A person with Covid-19 is unloaded from a helicopter at the Hautepierre hospital in Strasbourg, France

Jean-François Badias / AP / Shutterstock

The proportion of people who die after being infected with the coronavirus is very controversial. Some have claimed that death rates are not as high as thought and that governments are overreacting with measures such as lockdowns. However, a recent meta-analysis confirms earlier estimates and states that the death rate can be up to 16 percent in people over 90 and 0 percent in children under 4.

This study concludes that in high-income countries, more than 1 in …