Impacts of income inequality and the mediation role of reporting delays on COVID-19 deaths during 2020 and 2021 in Hong Kong: an observational study.

Objective: To estimate the impacts of demographic factors and income disparities on the case fatality rate (CFR) of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, taking into account the influence of reporting delays (ie, the duration between symptom onset and case confirmation).

Design: Retrospective observational longitudinal study.

Participants: A total of 7406 symptomatic patients with residence information reported between 23 January 2020 and 2 October 2021.