It’s Not True That 10 Of Londoners Are Infected With Omicron Variant
The Claim
Ten percent of Londoners have been infected with COVID-19’s recent Omicron variant. A quarter of London’s population has been infected with the Omicron variant.
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Emerging story
Twitter and Facebook accounts have recently circulated a claim that 10 percent of the U.K.’s London population have been infected with the new COVID-19 variant called Omicron. Other social media users have claimed that a quarter of London’s population has been infected with the recent COVID-19 variant Omicron.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s team has investigated the circulated claim and found it misleading. According to the Office for National Statistics, on Dec. 19, 1 in 10 Londoners had been infected with COVID-19, but not necessarily with the new Omicron variant of the disease.
On Dec. 16, the number of COVID-19 infections reached 1 in 20, as reported by the Office for National Statistics.
Since Dec. 21, the U.K. has been recording over 100,000 cases daily. On Friday, Dec. 24, the BBC reported that over 122,000 new cases were recorded. The cases were initially reported on the U.K.’s public sector information website GOV.UK.
However, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering, most infections were recorded in the capital, London. According to the U.K. Health Security Agency, it is likely that 90% of London’s COVID-19 infections were caused by the Omicron variant.
Translated by Ahmed N. A. Almassri
