This is actually untrue. According to the John hopkin's medical site that compares the flu and the corona virus: "COVID-19: Approximately 2,871 deaths reported worldwide; 0 deaths in the U.S., as of Feb. 28, 2020. Flu: 291,000 to 646,000 deaths worldwide; 12,000 to 61,000 deaths in the U.S. per year." The lethality rate is not as high considering, as stated in my original post, 80% of cases have been considered mild. Now, in terms of being "much more contangious" this is also untrue considering the research on COVID-19 spread has yet to be concluded. As of now all we know about the COVID-19 is that it spreads by respiratory droplets and not by surface contact.