OREANDA-NEWS. Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhabom Gheybreyesus stated on March 3 that mortality from the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is 3.4 %, and from seasonal influenza it is less than 1 %.

“The second major difference is that COVID-19 causes more severe disease than seasonal influenza. While many people globally have built up immunity to seasonal flu strains, COVID-19 is a new virus to which no one has immunity,” he said.

Gheybreyesus emphasized that the new coronavirus “does not transmit as efficiently as influenza.” Therefore, the main transmitters of the flu are people who have this virus in their bodies, but who are not yet sick. “Evidence from China is that only 1 % of reported cases do not have symptoms, and most of those cases develop symptoms within two days” the head of WHO told at the media briefing.