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

Posted on by FactCheckNI

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?

Did 33 people die by suicide during the first week of September 2020 in Northern Ireland?

Posted on by FactCheckNI

CLAIM: 33 people died by suicide during the first week of September in Northern Ireland.

CONCLUSION: UNSUBSTANTIATED. There are no official statistics or evidence to support the claim that 33 people died by suicide in Northern Ireland (or any specific area of it) during the first week of September 2020. Continue reading Did 33 people die by suicide during the first week of September 2020 in Northern Ireland?

How has COVID-19 contributed to excess deaths in Northern Ireland?

Posted on by FactCheckNI

What are “excess deaths”, and how does the figure for Northern Ireland compare with elsewhere in the UK and across Europe?

[This explainer article is part of the COVID-19 Information Dissemination (COVID-19 ID) Project — a partnership between Community Development and Health Network (CDHN) and FactCheckNI. Its aim is to improve people’s health literacy about COVID-19 by providing accurate and up-to-date information, which will increase knowledge, understanding and confidence and enable people to make good health decisions.] Continue reading How has COVID-19 contributed to excess deaths in Northern Ireland?

Did 62 more people contract COVID-19 in care homes, before dying in hospital?

Posted on by FactCheckNI

CLAIM: Of the 353 COVID-19 deaths in hospitals in Northern Ireland, 62 people contracted the virus in a care home and were transferred to a hospital before dying.

CONCLUSION: UNSUBSTANTIATED. The death certificates of 62 people who died in hospital mention COVID-19 and give a normal residence address of a care home. However, there is no data to indicate where or when they contracted COVID-19.
Continue reading Did 62 more people contract COVID-19 in care homes, before dying in hospital?

Are COVID-19 deaths in Northern Ireland 50% higher than Ireland?

Posted on by FactCheckNI

A widely shared tweet by Gabriel Scally on Wednesday 22 April draws attention to an Irish Times article about the difference in relative COVID-19 death rates across the island of Ireland, and claims that “the death rate for #COVID19 deaths in hospital (and for all COVID deaths) is 50% higher in Northern Ireland”.

Continue reading Are COVID-19 deaths in Northern Ireland 50% higher than Ireland?

It’s all about the test: Counting COVID-19 deaths

Posted on by FactCheckNI

“The figures on deaths relate in almost all cases to patients who have died in hospital and who have tested positive for COVID-19. Slight differences in reporting in devolved administrations may mean that they include a small number of deaths outside hospital.” — Department of Health and Social Care (UK)

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

Continue reading It’s all about the test: Counting COVID-19 deaths