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More or Less: Behind the Stats

Should you follow the 5 second rule? And does inflation hit the poorest harder?

More or Less: Behind the Stats

BBC

Business, Mathematics, Science, News Commentary, News

4.63.5K Ratings

🗓️ 26 January 2022

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Food writer Jack Monroe sparked national debate this week when she tweeted about food price hikes on the cheapest goods in supermarkets - but does inflation really hit low income households hardest? Social media and some news outlets have spread claims this week that only around 17,000 people have actually died of Covid. We debunk. We test the truth of the five second rule - is it a good idea to eat watermelon within five seconds of dropping it on the floor? And can you think yourself better?

Transcript

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0:00.0

BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts

0:06.0

Hello and welcome to More or Less, the show that keeps a close eye on the numbers in the news and in life.

0:12.1

I'm Tim Halford.

0:13.7

This week we cover all the issues that matter, from the power of the placebo effect,

0:19.2

to whether it's okay to eat food you've dropped on the floor as long as you pick it up within five seconds.

0:24.4

Something tells me we know how the data are going to play out on that one.

0:28.2

We'll also talk to author and food poverty activist Jack Monroe about what inflation figures do

0:34.2

or don't tell us about the price of cheap food.

0:37.6

First, let's revisit a sadly familiar question.

0:41.5

How many people in the UK have died of Covid?

0:45.2

The government's coronavirus dashboard gives two answers. Over 150,000 people have died within

0:51.7

28 days of a positive test result. But that might understate the true death toll because

0:57.3

testing was scarce in the first wave of the pandemic. Look at death certificates with Covid

1:02.7

mentioned as a cause of death and the numbers even higher, more than 175,000 people.

1:11.2

These are staggering numbers, but spend a bit of time on social media,

1:16.2

watching certain corners of YouTube or in this clip from GB News and you'll see another

1:22.4

very different number, just over 17,000 people. Now while the media talks a lot of the 150,000 deaths,

1:32.8

perhaps they should have been talking about the number of people who died of Covid, not with Covid.

1:39.7

That was just 17,371 up to the end of quarter 3 2021.

1:46.0

Our loyal listeners have been writing in to more or less at bbc.co.uk.

1:51.8

I have been sent this video and seen many posts saying that deaths from Covid are much

1:56.8

lower than is generally reported. It would be great to understand the data and you guys are the

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