In an article last week headlined “What they DON’T tell you about Covid”, the Daily Mail claimed the number of weekly deaths is currently “barely any higher” than the maximum level from the previous five years.
But this is wrong—it is based on incorrect figures.
As pointed out in a Twitter thread by Conservative MP Neil O’Brien, the Daily Mail’s chart claims that in the 44th week of 2020, 10,887 people died, while the maximum number of deaths in the 44th week of the previous five years was 10,861—just 26 lower.
While the first figure is correct, the second is wrong. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for deaths registered weekly in England and Wales show that the highest number of deaths in week 44 between 2015 and 2019 was actually 10,164 in 2019.
That’s 723 lower—a much more significant figure.
The Mail’s figure for 2019 was around 7% higher than it should have been. The reason for this difference appears to be that it was increased to account for population growth, even though the population has not grown by anything near 7% since last year.
The Daily Mail sources these figures for “adjusted for population growth” to a Twitter account called “the Statistics Guy Jon”—although the relevant tweet has since been deleted, and the account has “noted an error”. The Daily Mail has since amended its graph.
The moral of the story?
Don’t touch the Daily Mail if you like reality.
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