Get the facts on the new coronavirus
Our fact checkers are fighting to protect people from bad information about Covid-19.
How you can fact check claims about the new coronavirus
How you can fact check claims about the new coronavirus
There’s a lot of misinformation about Covid-19, so Full Fact is sharing its top tips on how to check if a claim is true.
What we know, and what we don’t, about the true coronavirus death toll
And why it’s too soon to compare the UK’s with other countries
Has the government really hit 100,000 tests a day, and what happens next?
Full Fact has looked into the reality behind the government’s testing target.
Causes
Study doesn’t show that children are ‘silent super-spreaders’ of coronavirus
A study into the quantity of Covid-19 carried by some children does not prove they are ‘silent super-spreaders’.
You cannot catch Legionnaires’ disease from a mask
Legionnaires’ disease is a bacterial infection caught through water.
There is no proof you’re more likely to get Covid-19 if you’re tall
It was widely reported that a survey showed men over six foot tall are more likely to be infected with coronavirus. However, the research does not prove this.
Symptoms
What did the lockdown rules say when Dominic Cummings travelled to Durham?
Some of his choices were not specifically permitted, and it appears that he did not fully explore the alternatives, as was required.
Can children transmit the new coronavirus to other people?
The evidence to date suggests that it is uncommon for children to transmit the new coronavirus. Widespread antibody testing is required to fully understand this issue.
Testing positive for Covid-19 doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get ill
A headline in the Times conflated testing positive with Covid-19 to being “ill” with the disease.
Prevention
Contact tracing has not stopped in schools
Single Covid-19 cases in educational settings are being traced centrally, instead of by local teams
Boris Johnson makes an error about quarantine payments
It is £500 for the whole period of self-isolation, not £500 per week.
Serco didn’t build and does not run the NHS Test and Trace app
Serco has been contracted during the pandemic to assist with facilities management and contact tracing call centres.
Treatment
Unlicensed vaccine manufacturers are immune from some, but not all, civil liability
A vaccine manufacturer would still be liable if their unlicensed product was defective.
We don’t know whether “misinformation” killed 800 people
Several news reports based this claim on a scientific paper that provided little evidence in support of the figure
mRNA vaccines are being developed for Covid-19, but they do not change your DNA
mRNA works by instructing cells, not altering DNA.
Lockdown
Contact tracing has not stopped in schools
Single Covid-19 cases in educational settings are being traced centrally, instead of by local teams
What do lockdown restrictions mean for relationships around the UK?
Readers have asked Full Fact to explain how lockdown rules impact their relationships.
Boris Johnson makes an error about quarantine payments
It is £500 for the whole period of self-isolation, not £500 per week.
Statistics
London Mayor candidate wrong to claim Covid-19 pandemic is no worse than a flu season
The number of deaths from Covid-19 far exceeds the number of deaths from flu in a given season, despite the much stricter controls in place.
Flu and Covid-19 statistics are being published in one report, but not added together
They will both now appear in the same weekly document.
Flu and Covid-19 statistics are not being added together
It’s just that they are both now published in the same weekly document.
Viral posts on social media
Challenging someone for not wearing a face mask isn’t against the Equality Act
It has been claimed on social media that challenging someone who is not wearing a face covering could result in a fine.
A Covid-19 diagnostic test won’t pick up other coronaviruses
It’s antibody tests that may detect whether someone had Covid-19 in the past that may pick up antibodies to other coronaviruses, not diagnostic tests.
Serco didn’t build and does not run the NHS Test and Trace app
Serco has been contracted during the pandemic to assist with facilities management and contact tracing call centres.
Ask Full Fact
What do lockdown restrictions mean for relationships around the UK?
Readers have asked Full Fact to explain how lockdown rules impact their relationships.
How does a Covid-19 test work?
The common cold will not produce a positive result on a Covid-19 diagnostic test.
Covid-19 kills far more than 0.1% of the people who catch it
The real death rate from Covid-19 is probably about five or ten times higher than 0.1%
All Covid-19 fact checks
London Mayor candidate wrong to claim Covid-19 pandemic is no worse than a flu season
The number of deaths from Covid-19 far exceeds the number of deaths from flu in a given season, despite the much stricter controls in place.
Contact tracing has not stopped in schools
Single Covid-19 cases in educational settings are being traced centrally, instead of by local teams
Andy Burnham was wrong about furlough on Question Time
The Mayor of Greater Manchester suggested that staff in closed pubs and bars in Bolton had no access to support.
Thank you
We are grateful to all our donors for supporting us to tackle dangerously false claims during this global crisis.