The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute infectious
disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2).
After severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory
syndrome (MERS), COVID-19 is the third acute infectious disease caused by the
coronavirus in humans. According to WHO, as of 3rd March 2020, the mortality rate of
COVID-19 cases was reported globally as approximately 3.4% and it was observed
particularly in patients who were suffering from comorbid conditions. The exact
mechanism of death is unclear so far, however, emerging reports have indicated that
less oxygen supply, excessive release of cytokines, and inflammatory mediators could
be one of the reasons. Thus, in this chapter, we have provided classification of death
cases occurring due to COVID-19. The possible mechanism of death is also discussed.
The last section of the chapter discusses the role of concomitant medication in the
death of COVID-19 patients.
Keywords: 2019-nCoV, Coronavirus disease 2019, Cytokine storm, Pandemic
disease, SARS-CoV-2.
