As severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spreads globally, crucial information on severity of the epidemic is needed. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline on Pandemic Influenza Severity Assessment, severity indicators would be transmissibility, disease seriousness and impact [1]. Transmissibility reflects the movement of the virus, which is influenced by the dynamics of the spread, the R0 and the susceptibility of the exposed population. So far, several estimates on R0 exist, ranging between 1.4 to 6.49, which indicate a higher transmissibility than seasonal influenza, and even higher than SARS-CoV [2]. Impact reflects the impact on the healthcare sector, such as capacity utilisation of general practitioners, hospitals and public health authorities, and on society. Given the current data, the impact in countries other than China is hard to assess, although potentially high [3,4]. Disease seriousness reflects the extent of individual sickness including clinical symptoms, complications and outcomes. Recent publications from the area first affected in China (the city of Wuhan in the province of Hubei) offer valuable, although preliminary, data such as the proportion of hospitalised coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients treated in intensive care units (ICU), ventilated or deceased. These are important parameters for the assessment of individual disease seriousness. However, a challenge is to apply these data to the situation in Europe, given the different population structures and comorbidities.