A viral video of a person on a stretcher surrounded by people wearing white protective clothing suits and medical masks has been shared with false claims it shows a new strain of Covid found in Northampton.
The footage actually shows emergency services responding to reports of concern for a person’s welfare—and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) told Full Fact that it has not had any notification of a new strain of Covid-19 being found in the town, or anywhere else in the UK.
The clip circulating on social media has been viewed more than eight million times, alongside the caption: “New strain of COVID found in Northampton UK ☢️ New lockdown imminent.”
Another clip of the incident has also been shared with the same claims about the new supposed new strain.
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We traced the footage to a property in Northampton. The Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service told us they were called to the street in Northampton on 22 October to assist the East Midlands Ambulance Service in response to reports of concern for a person’s welfare.
Northamptonshire Partnership Homes (NPH)—an organisation managing social housing on behalf of the council—also told us officers attended a property in relation to the welfare of one of the occupants. They said that all people entering the property “wore protective clothing as a precautionary measure” and that the incident was not related to Covid.
The UKHSA told Full Fact that the claims in the video are a “hoax”. A spokesperson said: “We have not had any notification of a new strain of Covid-19 being found in Northampton or anywhere else in UK; no such Covid-19 sample has been sent to our labs from the hospital in Northampton.”
We often see miscaptioned images and videos being shared widely on social media. Before reposting something you see, first consider whether it comes from a reliable and trustworthy source. Our toolkit can help you do this.