The UK Has A 50% Death Rate For Covid-19 ICU Admissions

Whilst the focus has been on the work to increase the world's supply of ventilators - the machines which 'breathe' for patients suffering from acute hypoxia, something which is common in patients with Covid-19 infections - new from the UK that close to 50% of patients (ICNARC) who are admitted to Intensive Care with the pneumonia-like symptoms of the Coronavirus are dying is a stark reminder that filling hospitals with ventilators isn't the answer to this question.

However with nearly 80% of patients in ICU requiring intubation and a ventilator to breathe, not having ventilators will certainly lead to an increase in the death rate.

Right now the extended periods of lockdown, inconvenient as they are to both individuals and the economy, and bringing with them the prospect of an unprecedented recession on a global scale; continue to be the best option for preventing widespread contamination and the significant number of deaths which would inevitably follow. As I write this, at least 800,000 people have tested positive for the virus, whilst 40,000 people have died.

Those numbers are going to continue to rise, albeit more slowly, for at least a couple of weeks. At least in the countries under lockdown. For those which have treated the infection more lightly or who are unable to reduce the transmission vectors by isolating people; the prospect of a surge in infections and consequential deaths remains a strong possibility. Especially as many of those are likely to be countries with no access to the ventilators required to keep half of critical cases alive.

There's a very real possibility that countries where Covid-19 has been brought under control will see secondary outbreaks as infections are imported from abroad. Those countries which have closed borders to foreigners may not be keen to welcome them back in anytime soon.