Clinical Characteristics and Risk Factors for Severe Disease of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in a Low Case Fatality Rate Region in Korea.

The most relevant risk factors of COVID-19 severity were male sex, older age, underlying chronic lung diseases, and duration of fever during hospitalization. The risk factors for severe COVID-19 were not significantly different from those reported in other studies. However, a lower proportion of the older population among confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases might contribute to the lower fatality rate than the national rate.