I do not think the people in Italy or parts of China would agree that it is blown out of proportion.

This article says they claim there are far more deaths and illness from Covid than official numbers state.

https://globalnews.ca/news/6706748/coronavirus-deaths-italy-bergamo/

The sobering toll hits in full force with just a glance at the local newspaper, L’Eco di Bergamo, which has seen the number of pages dedicated to death notices multiply from one to nine, 10, even 11 pages.

It also talks of how that area was not locked down until later and so it spread and how few have been tested to know they had Covid so death rates are much higher of people not claimed to have Covid too.