Health
You do not have to legally lower your mask for lip-readers
Lowering your mask to assist those who lip-read is allowed, but not legally required. Read
Fact checks
Covid-19 fact checks
This page brings together Full Fact’s fact checks on Covid-19, covering common claims, vaccine safety and efficacy, symptoms, treatments, government policies, and misinformation. We review evidence, correct errors, and monitor evolving science to help you make informed decisions.
Health
Changes to government Covid-19 death data won’t make a big difference to the overall death count
The government has demanded an urgent review into the way Public Health England calculates the daily death figures from coronavirus. Read
Analysis
Health
There is no indication that a Covid-19 vaccine will be mandatory or that those who don’t get it will have their movements restricted
A post claims that an app containing a QR code will be used to stop people entering shops or businesses if they haven’t had the vaccine. Read
Fact checks
It’s incorrect to say there was no resistance to safety measures around the Blitz
There are multiple examples of people failing to follow Blitz guidance. Read
Fact checks
Health
The government was wrong on its own data on Covid-19 tests for care homes
Boris Johnson and the Department for Health and Social Care claimed in May 125,000 staff in care settings and 118,000 care home residents had been tested for Covid-19. New data shows this incorrect. Read
Fact checks
It’s not true that 58% of Covid-19 deaths in Scotland were in care homes
A widely shared Facebook post wrongly claims that 58% of Scotland’s coronavirus deaths took place in care homes. Read
Fact checks
Health
This letter claiming to be from a doctor in Surrey is full of errors
Claims about hospital attendance figures, death certificates, and empty ambulances are all false. Read
Fact checks
Health
When did lockdown begin in the UK?
Matt Hancock claimed lockdown began a week before Boris Johnson instructed the country to ‘stay at home’. Read
Fact checks
Health
Cohabiting grandparents cannot bubble with a couple and their grandchildren
The Prime Minister suggested that grandparents could bubble with the household of their grandchildren. This isn’t always allowed. Read
Fact checks
Mask graphic contains a number of inaccuracies
A post has claimed that Covid-19 can’t be spread person to person. This is the main way the disease spreads. Read
Fact checks
