... imo, the title of the thread is debatable.
Every country has its own standard of assigning causes of death.
In Italy the dead with pre-existing conditions positive with Covid-19 are included in the list,
(unlike some other countries).
Statistics are worthless without a standardized data conformity between Countries.
That's indeed the case. The issue was addressed in yesterday's briefing. It was pointed out that in the U.S. (and in Italy from what I understand), if the patient is a Covid 19 patient, either because of a Covid 19 test or because of the distinctive lung X-Ray, it's considered a "Covid fatality", which is only reasonable.
However, as was also pointed out, there are countries which don't do that, Germany being one.
Also, in some countries it's the hospitals which do the reporting, and they don't add in the deaths at nursing homes.
Finally, the deaths are always a lagging indicator.
We have great statistics for epidemics which are over. You really can't get completely accurate numbers while it's still going on. We would need randomized studies of how many people have been exposed, how many were symptomatic, not at any one point in time but for at least a month, then how many died.
Then the availability of the machines has to be examined, the amount of protective gear the doctors had, etc. Christ, they were using machines with 3D printer parts, and scuba gear. Here, at least, ventilators were sent from California and Oregon on loan to New York because their situation wasn't as dire, and doctors came from around the country to help out.
Last count I saw, more than 60 doctors have died in Lombardia, which echoes what was happening in China.
You can't compare the situation there with countries with a few hundred cases; it's ridiculous.
So, I personally see no point in continuing this discussion.