First off, the virus was found to start on the Wuhan Peninsula marketplaces. Specifically where humans eat bats. The Chinese government tried to hide the fact they had an epidemic, but it spread.
Second, it’s not the death rate of the virus that causes the strain on our health system. It’s the amount of hospital admissions, specifically ICU admissions that the authorities look at. When hospitals fill up and elective procedures get cancelled, that affects us all.
Cleveland Clinic wanted to turn an education hall into a makeshift ICU, but there were over 900 nurses off work with the illness.
The virus might not have a huge death rate, but when it decimates the health care system, we all are affected.