As Covid-19 reporting has evolved, the death count has been the most cited number to track the size of the tragedy in the US and other countries. The simple death count is not used in comparisons to other countries, due to vast differences in country population sizes. Using the above example of the 100-person country with three Covid-19 deaths, the mortality rate would be 3%, no matter how many people were tested. An even more sobering view of how the US is doing is our actual mortality rate per 100,000 people (not CFR). The number or rate of deaths from Covid-19 in the United States is a disaster no matter what metric is used.

Source: CNN July 28, 2020 22:52 UTC