No one really knows how the number will turn out. There are factors that could push it down: lack of testing, lots of mild cases; and factors that could push it up: the disease takes a long time to either recover or succumb to, so many of those who will end up dying from it haven't died yet.
Resiliency of healthcare systems also clearly has a major impact. It might be well under 1% in a "first world" country where hospitals can keep up, and well over 10% in a "third world" country where they can't.
While a 7% mortality rate certainly isn't some kind of objective fact, it's unfortunately not out of the realm of possibility for us in a worst-case scenario where the healthcare system is completely inundated. It's better to face up to that possibility than downplay it even if it scares people, because we urgently need people to act so it doesn't get that bad. While I agree that people shouldn't fear-monger, it's far more irresponsible at this point to downplay the risk than to (arguably) overstate it.
Resiliency of healthcare systems also clearly has a major impact. It might be well under 1% in a "first world" country where hospitals can keep up, and well over 10% in a "third world" country where they can't.
While a 7% mortality rate certainly isn't some kind of objective fact, it's unfortunately not out of the realm of possibility for us in a worst-case scenario where the healthcare system is completely inundated. It's better to face up to that possibility than downplay it even if it scares people, because we urgently need people to act so it doesn't get that bad. While I agree that people shouldn't fear-monger, it's far more irresponsible at this point to downplay the risk than to (arguably) overstate it.