There has been a lot of discussion in relation to “excess deaths” and COVID-19. This term is not specific to this pandemic and has been used by statisticians globally for many years. This explainer article updates our previous analysis of excess mortality, otherwise known as “excess deaths”. Continue reading COVID-19 and excess deaths in Northern Ireland and the world
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?
CLAIMS:
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?
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?
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?
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?