Considering the fact that medical experts actually studying this virus, not some talking head who plays a medical expert on TV, have discovered that a large percentage of people are carrying the virus, yet not displaying the symptoms, the actual number of infected people is largely under reported. Thus, the mortality rate is being largely exaggerated, probably on purpose by the media.

Also, since this virus seems to attack the elderly, the numbers from China are not indicitive of the actual threat. You have to remember, the culture in China vs the rest of the world is very different. In China, most households have elderly people, as most families live with their elderly parents and grand parents, something that just does not happen in the rest of the world at ANY percentage like China. So if you come home with the virus in China, congrats, you just infected your grandma. Not so much in the US or other western countries. Lets not even get into the fact that a homeless person in the US has access to healthcare peasents in China can only dream of, and thats a homeless dude. A person in the US with health insurance has access to the best health care in the world, something even a sick person in Italy only dreams of.