Is there a greater chance of dying by being hit by a bus than by COVID-19?

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CLAIM: There is a greater chance of dying in a bus collision than by COVID-19.

CONCLUSION: INACCURATE. The probability of a randomly selected resident of Great Britain dying from January to October 2020, with COVID-19 mentioned on the death certificate, was over 3,000 times higher than the average probability of dying as a pedestrian in an accident involving a bus or a coach in the same period. Continue reading Is there a greater chance of dying by being hit by a bus than by COVID-19?

What is group screening for COVID-19?

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Summary 

Group screening takes samples from multiple people, mixes them together, and tests them as one. People within a group that test positive are individually retested, or an algorithm is used to identify positive individuals.

Pros: Fewer tests to process; more people tested; lower cost; detection of asymptomatic cases.

Cons: It is not efficient when the infection rate is high. Continue reading What is group screening for COVID-19?

What is Northern Ireland’s COVID-19 recovery plan?

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This explainer article details the Northern Ireland Executive’s COVID-19 recovery plan. Last changed on Thursday 15 October 2020, this article is no longer being updated. Please refer to the NI Direct website for information about the latest restrictions.

[This article was originally part of the COVID-19 Information Dissemination (COVID-19 ID) Project—a partnership between Community Development and Health Network (CDHN) and FactCheckNI. The project’s aim was to improve people’s health literacy about COVID-19 by providing accurate and up-to-date information which would increase knowledge, understanding and confidence and enable people to make good health decisions.]

What is the Northern Ireland circuit breaker?

On 14 October 2020, The Executive Office published an update to the list of regulatory (enforceable) measures as well as additional health guidance.

For a period of four weeks, starting at 6pm on Friday 16 October, the following will be in effect:

    • Support bubbles are limited to 10 people from two households
    • No overnight stays in a private home unless in a bubble
    • Hospitality sector to close (except for takeaway/delivery)
    • Fast food to close nightly at 11pm
    • No sale of alcohol (in off-licences and supermarkets) after 8pm
    • Retail remains open with emphasis on mitigations
    • No mass events involving more than 15 people
    • No close-contact services, including hairdressers and beauticians (health needs excluded)
    • No indoor sport; no organised outdoor sport involving mixing of households (exception for elite athletes)
    • Gyms open for individual training only
    • Churches remain open (face masks mandatory on entering/leaving)
    • Funerals limited to 25 people with no gatherings before or afterwards
    • Weddings limited to 25 people (from Monday 19 October)
    • Advised not to travel unnecessarily
    • Advised to work from home
    • Universities and further education advised to deliver distance learning as much as possible

In addition, the school half term holiday will be extended, beginning on Monday 19 October and reopening on Monday 2 November.

Continue reading What is Northern Ireland’s COVID-19 recovery plan?

Can you generate a positive result for COVID-19 from an RT-PCR test?

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CLAIMS:

    1. A high number of amplification cycles used in an RT-PCR test will lead to a positive diagnosis of COVID-19
    2. Kary Mullis, inventor of the PCR technique, said that the RT-PCR “can not be used to diagnose infectious diseases at all”
    3. Kary Mullis was opposed to RT-PCR testing being used to test for COVID-19 before his death

CONCLUSION: All of these claims are INACCURATE. Continue reading Can you generate a positive result for COVID-19 from an RT-PCR test?

What’s the accuracy of claims regarding COVID-19 featured in a leaflet distributed in parts of Lagan Valley constituency?

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CLAIMS: 

    1. Covid-19 was downgraded from high-consequence infectious disease (HCID) status by the UK government on 19th March, 2020.
    2. Death rates are no higher this year than in a bad flu season.
    3. Covid-19 is being put on death certificates fraudulently, without a test having been carried out and when the patient died of something else.

CONCLUSION: A mixture of ACCURATE WITH CONSIDERATION, UNSUBSTANTIATED, and INACCURATE claims that use non-specific phrases, missing context, and words that provoke an emotional reaction to the claims rather than a rational, evidence-based one. Continue reading What’s the accuracy of claims regarding COVID-19 featured in a leaflet distributed in parts of Lagan Valley constituency?