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Information about Covid-19
Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the information you’ve received about the Covid-19 outbreak?
| NET: Agree | 06/04 | 29/03 | 22/03 |
| I feel informed about the situation and the impact on me and my family | 70% | 63% | 64% |
| I trust the Government to provide honest and objective information about the Covid-19 outbreak | 63% | 56% | 56% |
| The information I’ve received has been clear and consistent | 52% | 47% | 51% |
| I trust the media to provide honest and objective information about the Covid-19 outbreak | 51% | 42% | 35% |
| Base (n) | 1,069 | 1,086 | 1,034 |
| NET: Agree | NET: Disagree | Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree | |
| I feel informed about the situation and the impact on me and my family | 70% | 14% | 27% | 43% | 17% | 9% | 5% |
| I trust the Government to provide honest and objective information about the Covid-19 outbreak | 63% | 18% | 26% | 37% | 19% | 10% | 8% |
| The information I’ve received has been clear and consistent | 52% | 26% | 17% | 34% | 22% | 19% | 7% |
| I trust the media to provide honest and objective information about the Covid-19 outbreak | 51% | 26% | 14% | 37% | 23% | 16% | 10% |
| NET: AGREE | Gender | Age Group | Location | ||||||
| Total | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Capital | Non-Capital | ||
| I feel informed about the situation and the impact on me and my family | 70% | 66% | 74% | 56% | 68% | 78% | 69% | 71% | |
| I trust the Government to provide honest and objective information about the Covid-19 outbreak | 63% | 59% | 66% | 51% | 60% | 70% | 63% | 63% | |
| The information I’ve received has been clear and consistent | 52% | 49% | 55% | 42% | 46% | 60% | 51% | 52% | |
| I trust the media to provide honest and objective information about the Covid-19 outbreak | 51% | 50% | 52% | 41% | 49% | 56% | 52% | 49% | |
| Base (n) | 1,069 | 523 | 546 | 341 | 342 | 386 | 731 | 338 | |
- This week, woman are more likely to agree that they feel informed of the situation and the impact on them and their families (74% up from 62%), that they trust the government to provide honest and objective information (66%, up from 56%) and trust the media (52%, up from 41%). Men’s agreement that they have trust in the media has also increased from 42% to 50%.
- People living in regional areas have higher agreement in all four statements this week – ‘I feel informed about the situation and the impact on me and my family’ (63% to 71%), ‘I trust the Government to provide honest and objective information about the Covid-19 outbreak’ (53% to 63%), ‘The information I’ve received has been clear and consistent’ (43% to 52%) and ‘I trust the media to provide honest and objective information about the Covid-19 outbreak (38% to 49%).
- There has been increased agreement among those aged 35-54 that they feel informed (59% to 68%) and have trust in the information from government (49% to 60%).
- Older people (aged over 55) and those in capital cities are more likely to agree that they trust the information in media this week (42% to 56% and 43% to 52% respectively).
Changing behaviour due to Covid-19
Q. Have you changed your behaviour in any of the following ways since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak?
| 06/04 | 29/03 | 22/03 | |
| Increased personal hygiene measures (e.g. hand washing) | 78% | 79% | 72% |
| Limited attending social spaces, shops, restaurants or group events | 82% | 75% | 60% |
| Stopped physical greetings (e.g. shaking hands, kissing, hugging) | 78% | 73% | 60% |
| Bought additional groceries to stock-up | 38% | 41% | 33% |
| Reduced use of cash to pay for purchases | 50% | 43% | 23% |
| Changed working patterns (e.g. changed hours, or working from home) | 33% | 33% | 20% |
| None of these | 3% | 5% | 12% |
| Base (n) | 1,069 | 1,086 | 1,034 |
| Gender | Age Group | Location | |||||||
| Total | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Capital | Non-Capital | ||
| Increased personal hygiene measures (e.g. hand washing) | 78% | 73% | 83% | 68% | 78% | 83% | 80% | 74% | |
| Limited attending social spaces, shops, restaurants or group events | 82% | 77% | 87% | 70% | 81% | 89% | 81% | 83% | |
| Stopped physical greetings (e.g. shaking hands, kissing, hugging) | 78% | 75% | 82% | 63% | 77% | 87% | 79% | 78% | |
| Bought additional groceries to stock-up | 38% | 32% | 44% | 41% | 41% | 35% | 40% | 33% | |
| Reduced use of cash to pay for purchases | 50% | 47% | 54% | 50% | 52% | 50% | 51% | 48% | |
| Changed working patterns (e.g. changed hours, or working from home) | 33% | 32% | 33% | 46% | 48% | 17% | 38% | 23% | |
| None of these | 3% | 4% | 2% | 2% | 4% | 3% | 2% | 5% | |
| Base (n) | 1,069 | 523 | 546 | 341 | 342 | 386 | 731 | 338 | |
Financial situation during Covid-19 outbreak
Q. Which of the following best describes your financial situation during the Covid-19 outbreak?
| NET: Agree | 06/04 | 29/03 | 22/03 |
| I do not expect the Covid-19 will impact my income | 24% | 26% | 24% |
| I have sufficient savings to deal with a short-term loss of income | 28% | 32% | 26% |
| I will struggle with a short-term loss of income, but will get by | 31% | 23% | 29% |
| I will be in serious financial stress with short-term loss of income | 16% | 20% | 21% |
| Base (n) | 1,069 | 1,086 | 1,034 |
| Gender | Age Group | Location | |||||||
| Total | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Capital | Non-Capital | ||
| I do not expect the Covid-19 will impact my income | 24% | 25% | 23% | 13% | 19% | 32% | 25% | 29% | |
| I have sufficient savings to deal with a short-term loss of income | 28% | 29% | 27% | 27% | 24% | 31% | 29% | 26% | |
| I will struggle with a short-term loss of income, but will get by | 31% | 31% | 32% | 38% | 34% | 27% | 31% | 29% | |
| I will be in serious financial stress with short-term loss of income | 16% | 15% | 18% | 22% | 23% | 10% | 15% | 17% | |
| Base (n) | 1,069 | 523 | 546 | 341 | 342 | 386 | 731 | 338 | |
| Household | Employment | ||||||
| Total | Have dependent children | Do not have dependent children | In paid employment | Not in paid employment | Retired | ||
| I do not expect the Covid-19 will impact my income | 24% | 21% | 26% | 12% | 27% | 46% | |
| I have sufficient savings to deal with a short-term loss of income | 28% | 24% | 30% | 33% | 20% | 29% | |
| I will struggle with a short-term loss of income, but will get by | 31% | 36% | 29% | 39% | 31% | 17% | |
| I will be in serious financial stress with short-term loss of income | 16% | 19% | 15% | 16% | 22% | 8% | |
| Base (n) | 1,069 | 353 | 716 | 533 | 255 | 223 | |
Coronavirus concerns
Q. To what extent are you concerned about the threat of the Coronavirus in Australia?
| 29/03 | 22/03 | 09/03 | 10/02 | |
| Very concerned | 53% | 39% | 27% | 25% |
| Quite concerned | 35% | 43% | 36% | 43% |
| Not that concerned | 10% | 14% | 28% | 26% |
| Not at all concerned | 3% | 4% | 9% | 6% |
| Base (n) | 1,086 | 1,034 | 1,096 | 1,057 |
| Gender | Age Group | Location | |||||||
| Total | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Capital | Non-Capital | ||
| Very concerned | 53% | 49% | 56% | 50% | 54% | 54% | 56% | 46% | |
| Quite concerned | 35% | 37% | 32% | 35% | 35% | 35% | 33% | 37% | |
| Not that concerned | 10% | 10% | 9% | 12% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 13% | |
| Not at all concerned | 3% | 3% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 4% | |
| Base (n) | 1,086 | 539 | 547 | 341 | 362 | 383 | 727 | 359 | |
- Concern about Covid-19 has increased this week, with 53% now very concerned (up 14pts from last week).
- This is driven by more women saying they are very concerned about Covid-19 (up 8pts from last week) and capital city residents increasing concern (also up 8pt).
Likelihood of developing Coronavirus
Q. How likely do you think it is, that you will develop Covid-19?
| 29/03 | 22/03 | 09/03 | |
| Very likely | 8% | 8% | 7% |
| Somewhat likely | 36% | 34% | 24% |
| Somewhat unlikely | 45% | 45% | 43% |
| Very unlikely | 12% | 13% | 26% |
| Base (n) | 1,086 | 1,034 | 1,096 |
| Age group | Location | |||||
| Total | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Capital | Non-Capital | |
| Very likely | 8% | 11% | 8% | 5% | 8% | 6% |
| Somewhat likely | 36% | 37% | 42% | 29% | 37% | 34% |
| Somewhat unlikely | 45% | 39% | 41% | 54% | 43% | 49% |
| Very unlikely | 12% | 13% | 10% | 12% | 12% | 11% |
| Base (n) | 1,086 | 341 | 362 | 383 | 727 | 359 |
- Individual likelihood of developing Covid-19 is on par with last week, 8% of participants believe it’s very likely they will develop Covid-19, compared to 12% who think it’s very unlikely.
- Participants over 55 believe that they are unlikely to develop Covid-19 (66% somewhat/very unlikely) than those between 18-34 (52% unlikely).
Reaction to Covid-19
Q. Which of the following is closer to your personal views of the Covid-19 outbreak?
| 29/03 | 22/03 | |
| There has been an over-reaction to the threat of Covid-19 | 18% | 33% |
| The response to the threat of Covid-19 is about right | 39% | 39% |
| The threat of Covid-19 has been under-estimated | 43% | 28% |
| Base (n) | 1,086 | 1,034 |
| Gender | Age Group | ||||||
| Total | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | ||
| There has been an over-reaction to the threat of Covid-19 | 18% | 20% | 17% | 24% | 19% | 12% | |
| The response to the threat of Covid-19 is about right | 39% | 42% | 36% | 39% | 39% | 39% | |
| The threat of Covid-19 has been under-estimated | 43% | 39% | 47% | 37% | 42% | 49% | |
| Base (n) | 1,086 | 539 | 547 | 341 | 362 | 383 | |
- Now 43% of participants believe the threat of Covid-19 has been under-estimated compared to 28% who said the same last week.
- Women (47%) and participants over 55 years old (49%) are more likely say the treat has been under-estimated than men (39%) and 18-34 year olds (37%).
Truth in statements about Covid-19 spread
Q. How confident are you that the following statements about Covid-19 are true?
| NET: True | NET: Not true | Definitely true | Probably true | Probably not true | Definitely not true | Unsure | |
| Even if children and young people tend to be less affected by Covid-19, they can still catch it and pass it on to others | 88% | 8% | 62% | 26% | 6% | 2% | 4% |
| It’s possible for people to have the virus and be contagious even if they don’t feel sick in any way | 88% | 8% | 61% | 26% | 6% | 3% | 4% |
| You can still catch Covid-19 even if you have a face mask | 82% | 12% | 50% | 32% | 9% | 3% | 6% |
| People are buying up and hoarding large amounts of medicines and toilet paper so they can sell them for inflated profits | 74% | 20% | 38% | 36% | 16% | 5% | 5% |
| Busloads of outsiders have been observed coming to small-town supermarkets and buying up most of their stock in response to the Covid-19 outbreak | 73% | 17% | 39% | 33% | 13% | 4% | 10% |
| It’s no more dangerous than a typical winter flu | 31% | 61% | 16% | 15% | 17% | 44% | 8% |
- More than four in five participants believe the three statements about the spread of Covid-19 to be true.
| NET: True | Gender | Age Group | |||||
| Total | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | ||
| Even if children and young people tend to be less affected by Covid-19, they can still catch it and pass it on to others | 88% | 85% | 92% | 81% | 88% | 95% | |
| You can still catch Covid-19 even if you have a face mask | 82% | 80% | 85% | 77% | 81% | 88% | |
| Busloads of outsiders have been observed coming to small-town supermarkets and buying up most of their stock in response to the Covid-19 outbreak | 73% | 70% | 75% | 65% | 70% | 81% | |
| People are buying up and hoarding large amounts of medicines and toilet paper so they can sell them for inflated profits | 74% | 71% | 77% | 69% | 70% | 82% | |
| It’s no more dangerous than a typical winter flu | 31% | 34% | 28% | 38% | 30% | 26% | |
| It’s possible for people to have the virus and be contagious even if they don’t feel sick in any way | 88% | 84% | 91% | 82% | 88% | 92% | |
| Base (n) | 1,086 | 539 | 547 | 341 | 362 | 383 | |
Government response to Covid-19
Q. Overall, how would you rate the Government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak?
| 29/03 | 22/03 | |
| Very poor | 11% | 9% |
| Quite poor | 21% | 20% |
| Neither good, nor poor | 24% | 26% |
| Quite good | 34% | 33% |
| Very good | 11% | 12% |
| NET: Good | 45% | 45% |
| NET: Poor | 31% | 29% |
| Base (n) | 1,086 | 1,034 |
| Gender | Age Group | Location | |||||||
| Total | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Capital | Non-Capital | ||
| Very poor | 11% | 12% | 10% | 10% | 12% | 10% | 10% | 12% | |
| Quite poor | 21% | 22% | 20% | 24% | 21% | 17% | 23% | 16% | |
| Neither good, nor poor | 24% | 22% | 25% | 32% | 26% | 14% | 23% | 24% | |
| Quite good | 34% | 35% | 33% | 27% | 31% | 42% | 33% | 36% | |
| Very good | 11% | 10% | 13% | 6% | 10% | 18% | 11% | 12% | |
| NET: Good | 45% | 44% | 46% | 33% | 40% | 60% | 44% | 48% | |
| NET: Poor | 31% | 33% | 29% | 35% | 33% | 26% | 33% | 28% | |
| Base (n) | 1,086 | 539 | 547 | 341 | 362 | 383 | 727 | 359 | |
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Read Essential's ongoing research on the public response to Covid-19.
Download this weeks ReportEssential Report
Two Party Preferred: 14 May 2019
Labor
51.5%-0.5
Coalition
48.5%+0.5
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