The data for the two diseases are not being combined, just published in one document

16 Oct 2020 | Facts and news from Full Fact
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FACT CHECK
Flu and Covid-19 statistics are not being added together to make the coronavirus seem worse than it is

Facebook posts, WhatsApp messages and YouTube videos are sharing a screenshot from Public Health England’s weekly Covid-19 surveillance report—claiming it shows plans to add influenza and coronavirus statistics together. Broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer also repeated the false claim.

The PHE screenshot says that from the October 8, “the information in this report will be published in a combined Weekly flu and COVID-19 Surveillance Report.” People have misinterpreted this as meaning the numbers will be combined.

In reality, all it means is the data will remain separate, but it will now be released in the same document.

Since we published our fact check, Ms Hartley-Brewer has deleted her tweet and corrected the record—but people are still sharing this false information in messages to friends and family.

If you get sent a text with information that doesn’t look right, you can forward it on to our team of independent, impartial fact checkers using our new WhatsApp service ([link removed])
What PHE actually said ([link removed])
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FACT CHECK
This comparison of the cost of the Irish and UK contact tracing systems is misleading ([link removed])

We’ve been alerted to a misleading claim on social media about the cost of the contact tracing systems in the UK and in Ireland. The post claims the Irish system costs £773,000 and the British system costs £12 billion. But these figures aren’t comparable.

The £773,000 figure is just the cost of Ireland's test and trace app, not the test and trace system as a whole. The chief executive of the Irish Health Service Executive predicts the full-year cost of the system could reach €700 million (around £630 million).

The £12 billion figure refers to the UK government's provision for the whole test and trace system in England, not just an app.

The cost of the app in England and Wales is estimated to be £35 million for development and first-year running costs.

But even using the correct figures, comparing the cost of the systems in the UK and Ireland is tricky, given the vast differences in population, for example.
What about the app? ([link removed])
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FACT CHECK
What did Rishi Sunak actually say about people in the arts? ([link removed])

Claims that Rishi Sunak said musicians and other people in the arts sector “should retrain and find other jobs” have gone viral following an interview with ITV.

Although ITV has since deleted its original tweet, in which it paraphrased the Chancellor’s remarks, many people still insist that is what Mr Sunak meant.

So what did he actually say? We have transcribed the interview in full, so you can look at the evidence and decide for yourself.
Rishi Sunak’s interview: transcribed ([link removed])
MORE FACT CHECKS
Also this week...
* There almost certainly aren’t as many as two million unauthorised immigrants in the UK ([link removed])
* Andy Burnham was wrong about furlough on Question Time ([link removed])
* It's not true that data on causes of death isn't published ([link removed])

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