A five-minute video containing misleading questions about the COVID-19 pandemic was shared online by UK social media users.
The clip begins with the statement: “Here are 25 questions you can ask friends and family who still believe we’m in the middle of a deadly pandemic” (here). Some of the questions are examined here, but many of the allegations and opinions fall outside the scope of this article.
“Entrepreneurs are quieter than normal”
The video asks, “If there really is a pandemic, why do all the entrepreneurs say that business is normal, or less than usual?” (0:20)
This is false. The National Association of Funeral Directors told Reuters that the funeral directors of Britain in 2020 arranged about 90,000 more funerals than in the past year, with 30% more funerals taking place in January and February 2021 compared to the normal (here) .
Reuters also spoke individually with British funeral directors. Poppy’s Funerals reported that they were 30% busier than usual in May 2020 (here), and the London W. Uden & Sons said in February 2021 that they arrange 15 or 16 funerals a day, compared to ten a day in previous winters ( here).
“Deaths in 2020 were normal”
Question number four asks, “If there really is a pandemic, why do all the statistics say that the death toll was within normal parameters last year?” (0:39)
This is untrue. Sarah Caul, head of mortality analysis at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), wrote in January 2021: “2020 was an unprecedented year in many ways, including the number of deaths; the total number of deaths registered in 2020 was 75 925 higher than we would expect if we looked at the five-year average between 2015 and 2019. ”(here).
Reuters Fact Check has repeatedly downplayed claims that death rates were normal here, here and here.
“Why do we repeat the exclusion?”
Questions six and seven are asked: “If the first exclusion worked, why do we do it again? If the exclusions did not work, then why do we do the same thing again? ‘(0:57)
This logic is very misleading. Available evidence shows that excretions reduce coronavirus transmission. Reuters contacted Dr. Elizabeth Stuart, co-dean of education at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (here), in November 2020, and Dr. Stuart Ray, expert infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in November 2020 (here). , who both confirmed this fact.
Dr. Stuart told Reuters that until the vaccine or treatment was deployed, the world had to rely on ‘real behavioral factors’, such as physical distance, washing hands, wearing masks, which were used as ‘effective ways’ to prevent transmission of infectious diseases. the past (here).
Reuters also reported on international studies that determined that locks could have saved millions of lives (here).
“Why is the government ignoring doctors?”
The eighth question in the video asks, “Why is the government listening to their own very small panel of experts and refusing to listen to the vast majority of doctors, nurses and health experts?”
Again, this claim is wrong. The UK government has been advised by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) since January 2020, which includes a wide range of experts, including Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty (here). SAGE also uses information from the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, abbreviated to NERVTAG, which includes 21 medical experts (here).
The British Medical Association, which represents doctors in the UK, regularly acknowledges the deadly impact of the pandemic on the general population and medical staff (here).
“Hospitals are empty”
The voice in the video asks for question number nine: “Why do we see scenes of pandemonium in hospitals on TV, when in fact they are all empty?” (1:29)
The false claim that hospitals are empty has previously spread online and been repeatedly disregarded by Reuters Fact. Look here, here, here and here.
The BBC News Reality Check team examined and reported videos of silent hospital corridors in January 2021: ‘due to the way healthcare trusts reorganized hospitals, which often separated Covid patients from others, and canceled non-urgent care to free up capacity to set, hospital buildings will currently look empty. This does not mean that hospitals are not busy. ”(Www.bbc.co.uk/news/55560714)
“Why did governments order COVID tests in 2018?”
The eleventh question reads: ‘If the pandemic started in 2019, how did all the governments around the world order and deliver COVID-19 PCR test kits in 2018 the previous year?’ (1:47)
Reuters Fact Check unveiled this claim in September 2020 (here).
“What about the WHO update that says COVID-19 tests are unreliable?”
One of the last questions in the video asks: “Why did the BBC and all the other media not let you know that the World Health Organization (WHO) has published an update that the PCR tests are unreliable and should not be used? not?” (3:08)
This claim is also false and was scrapped by Reuters Fact Check earlier this month (here).
VERDICT
Untrue. This video contains a series of questions based on false statements to try to discourage ‘friends and family who still believe we are in the midst of a deadly pandemic’. The COVID-19 pandemic is real and so far more than two million deaths have been reported to the WHO (covid19.who.int/).
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to actually check social media posts.