Definition of deaths varies widely, testing policy varies widely, no statistical extrapolation is being done in an attempt to avoid undermining public health policies that might be based on total fantasy.
In outbreak areas, total morbidity increases by multiples to magnitudes during the peak (despite enormous, historic measures of containment). Areas with processions of army trucks full of bodies, or the defense department bringing in refrigeration trucks.
"But what about the co-morbidity?". People don't die "of" COVID-19. They have heart failure, kidney failure, or other triggers of death because COVID-19 pushes their body to the limit. Pointing to resources that claim that "only" some small percentage actually died of COVID-19 is pure ignorance, because then the declaring doctor was simply being efficient because if they truly looked in there would be another triggered cause of death. Just as no one died of "AIDS", they died of things like Kaposi sarcoma, but if someone said "see, it wasn't AIDS at all" they would be laughed out of the room.
The majority of deaths are people who are health compromised in some other way (not all deaths, and there have been an abundant number of completely healthy people who have perished), but that is known by everyone and is not news, nor does it diminish the tragedy.
"no statistical extrapolation"
This is the most interesting, and ridiculous, claim of all. Enormous statistical measures and extrapolations are being done daily...that's how we are where we are. What is this meaningless claim even trying to say, other than that you, easytiger, know more than every health authority.
Way to have an argument with things I didn't assert.
Categorically, in many countries (UK, Italy), the figures released represent people who tested positive for covid 19 before or after death. Those figures, without any question, do not offer an opinion on how, if at all, it had any effect on the death. Further to that in the UK official death (released monthly) stats only count mentions of covid19 on a report. It doesn't indicate anything
In some countries, the only demographic where you are guaranteed to be tested is if you die, and in a hospital.
Definition of deaths varies widely, testing policy varies widely, no statistical extrapolation is being done in an attempt to avoid undermining public health policies that might be based on total fantasy.