A study of more than 44,600 cases confirmed in China by Feb. 11 found more than 81% were mild. For the study, published by China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, cases were considered mild if a patient did not have pneumonia or only experienced mild pneumonia. In the same study, less than 14% of cases were severe and less than 5% were critical. Severe cases were defined as shortness of breath, low blood oxygen saturation, or other lung problem, while critical cases meant the patient suffered respiratory failure, septic shock, or multiple organ dysfunction.
But the fact that most cases are mild doesn't mean the virus isn't a threat
Regarding the severity of the illness, a group of scientists wrote in a piece published in the New England Journal of Medicine last week wrote, "In this manner, a virus that poses a low health threat on the individual level can pose a high risk on the population level, with the potential to cause disruptions of global public health systems and economic losses"