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Changing behaviour due to Covid-19

24 Mar 2020

Q. Have you changed your behaviour in any of the following ways since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak?

    Gender Age Group Location
  Total Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+ Capital Non-Capital
Increased personal hygiene measures (e.g. hand washing) 72% 70% 74% 72% 67% 76% 73% 70%
Limited attending social spaces, shops, restaurants or group events 60% 56% 63% 60% 58% 61% 61% 56%
Stopped physical greetings (e.g. shaking hands, kissing, hugging) 60% 57% 63% 57% 57% 65% 60% 60%
Bought additional groceries to stock-up 33% 32% 35% 38% 36% 27% 37% 25%
Reduced use of cash to pay for purchases 23% 20% 25% 30% 23% 17% 24% 19%
Changed working patterns (e.g. changed hours, or working from home) 20% 24% 17% 33% 24% 6% 23% 14%
None of these 12% 13% 11% 8% 15% 13% 10% 16%
Base (n) 1,034 519 515 342 327 365 703 331
  • Since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, a majority of people have increased their personal hygiene (72%), limited their social interactions (60%) and reduced physical greetings (60%). A third of people say they have stocked up on groceries (33%).
  • Younger people aged 18-34 were more likely to have changed their working patterns (33%) and reduced using cash for payments (30%)
  • Just 12% of people say they have not changed their behaviour as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
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