It would be good if experts and officials could base pandemic policy advice and decisions on reliable data of the death rate among infected people. They cannot, because they have no idea of the total number of Covid-19 infections, boosted by the Omicron variant. The official tally of more than 1 million confirmed cases does not include undetected asymptomatic or mild cases, misdiagnosis as flu or failure to report a positive test. This has prompted Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to say that further analysis is warranted to ascertain the real number, citing suggestions from infectious diseases expert Professor Ivan Hung Fan-ngai of the University of Hong Kong. “Whether it is 1, 2, 3 or 4 million will make a lot of difference,” Lam said. It weighs on the death rate, which could range from 0.65 per cent of 1 million cases to 0.18 per cent of 4 million, not much more than for a flu epidemic. Hung said the overall death rate was lower than the official figure. Separately, preliminary analysis by the Hospital Authority has found that 30 per cent of deaths among Covid-19 patients appeared to be unrelated to the disease. We need more clarity. With the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) in 2003 we knew there were 1,755 cases and 398 deaths – one in six or about 16 per cent. Questions about the death rate from Covid-19 are valid. Accuracy is important for policy decisions, but the issue should also be considered in the overall context. We are approaching an official figure of more than 8,000 deaths. What sets that apart is that most have occurred in the past three months and many were in aged care settings, with a fatality rate of 9.35 per cent among infected over-80s. Hong Kong residents return home as Covid travel curbs eased; 5,823 cases logged It is said that society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable. It would be a stretch to judge Hong Kong on these numbers. There is a need for more analysis of caseloads and causes of death to reach firm conclusions. But, on face value, they are surely not figures by which Hong Kong would want to be judged. It is important to test and improve the accuracy and quality of vital data, such as the death rate relative to the real number of infections. But with the fifth wave of infections far from exhausted, and with Easter approaching, the local authorities and mainland advisers are right to focus on treatment of the seriously ill and prevention of deaths.