The mortality rate could be an order of magnitude higher than the flu. The flu in the US kills less than 0.1% of infected. 12,000 - 80,000 people die every yea

The mortality rate could be an order of magnitude higher than the flu. The flu in the US kills less than 0.1% of infected. 12,000 - 80,000 people die every year, just in the US. (where nearly half the population gets a flu vaccine every year and there is health infrastructure to treat the worst cases). The new coronavirus' mortality rate is very unknown, but if it's anywhere close to the 2% number, and it spreads in a similar way to the flu, it could easily cause the deaths of millions of people.