The death rate from coronavirus during the current wave is less than half the death rate during the first wave despite the much higher number of positive tests during the current wave. This, according Prof. Ran Balicer, a senior public health official at Clalit and an advisor to the Health Ministry on infectious disease epidemiology speaking to Channel 12 News.
Balicer says the probable causes for this are the fact that high-risk groups are better protected during the current wave, hospitals are more knowledgeable on treating hospitalized virus patients, and increased testing identifies a higher percentage of asymptomatic patients who are instructed to quarantine, thereby halting the infection cycle.