Explainer: Why the coronavirus death rate still eludes scientists

A healthcare worker points to her mask, while requesting a resident to lower their mask to their mouth, at a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) drive in testing location in Houston, Texas, U.S., August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/Files

(Reuters) - Global deaths from COVID-19 have reached 1 million, but experts are still struggling to figure out a crucial metric in the pandemic: the fatality rate - the percentage of people infected with the pathogen who die.

Here is a look at issues surrounding better understanding the COVID-19 death rate.