isn't the coronavirus usually non-fatal if treated? afaik they don't have enough beds for patients with how widespread it is, and the panic caused by China trying to censor how severe the outbreak is certainly adds to the panic.
i think the main issue is that it spreads really quickly/easily - with this panic and mass media news reporting, people will take it seriously and go to the hospital if they get the symptoms, helping prevent mass infection before it happens. its
really infectious
Basic reproduction number for the human-to-human transmission of the virus was estimated as between 2 and 4. The number describes to how many people a newly infected person is likely to pass the virus in human population. The new coronavirus has been reportedly able to transmit down a chain of up to four people so far.
that said, i think its unlikely many will die in the states from it - see ebola outbreak death rate in usa/developed countries vs african countries. with the medical care facilities here, the symptoms can likely be treated effectively enough to reduce the chance of death if one catches it.