it's not literally the flu.
Compare to flu numbers.
No more people are dying from this than typically die from flu. In fact, some who are dying from flu are being counted as covid-19.
In a normal year, we'd have as many deaths only no one would notice.
When it's all said and done, I believe total deaths will not be in excess of a normal year. In other words, some who'd have been killed by flu are dying of covid-19