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FACT CHECK
High reported Covid deaths due to Easter holiday backlog
A great number of social media users have pointed out that lots of Covid deaths were reported last week. They say that 482 Covid deaths were reported in the UK on 19 April, 508 on 20 April and 646 on 21 April.
This is correct, but needs to be taken in the context of the Easter weekend.
Official data shows zero deaths were reported from Friday 15 April to Monday 18 April, meaning there was a backlog of deaths to be reported afterwards. It’s important to remember these figures represent the number of deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test reported on each day, not the number that occurred on each day.
This is very similar to the ‘Tuesday problem’ we’ve seen frequently over the pandemic. The daily figures are inflated on that day due to a lag in reporting over the weekend. That’s why a seven-day average is a better way of looking at the death-rate.
Data on the number of Covid deaths by the date of death rather than by the date of reporting, shows that the daily number is falling.
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JOBS
We're hiring!
We’re recruiting for an additional Press & Media Manager to help tackle the spread of misleading, dangerous claims—and hold those responsible to account.
Every day our team of fact checkers and campaigners find, check and challenge false claims. Your job will be to make our voice heard in the daily news cycle.
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FACT CHECK
Boris Johnson wrong on employment figures…again
No, we’ve not just left this from last week. Although we have kept the same title…because the same thing happened again.
For the tenth time, the Prime Minister claimed in Parliament that there are more people in work now than there were before the pandemic began. Official ONS figures prove otherwise.
He must correct the official record.
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INTERVENTIONS
Corrections Corner
We’re grateful to MP Chris Bryant, who this week corrected a false claim he made about heat pumps and VAT.
We hope every MP sees this and follows suit. Mistakes happen, but all too rarely do politicians correct themselves. This should change.
Full Fact must also make a correction this week. In last week’s newsletter, we wrote about Labour’s claim that the average household will be £2,620 worse off this year and explained that these figures are flawed.
In our explanation, we offered an alternate estimate using ONS data, arriving at £700. Readers pointed out an issue in this calculation, and using a different method the figure would be £1,000. Other estimates are slightly higher, but still significantly lower than Labour’s estimate. Thanks to those who got in touch with us about this.
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MORE FACT CHECKS
Also this week...
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Stop the spread of bad information
Find these updates useful? We'd be incredibly grateful if you could share our fact checks and help more people access good information.
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All the best,
Team Full Fact
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