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Changing behaviour due to Covid-19

31 Mar 2020

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

  29/03 22/03
Increased personal hygiene measures (e.g. hand washing) 79% 72%
Limited attending social spaces, shops, restaurants or group events 75% 60%
Stopped physical greetings (e.g. shaking hands, kissing, hugging) 73% 60%
Bought additional groceries to stock-up 41% 33%
Reduced use of cash to pay for purchases 43% 23%
Changed working patterns (e.g. changed hours, or working from home) 33% 20%
None of these 5% 12%
Base (n) 1,086 1,034
  • Now 95% of participants claim that their behaviour has changed since the Covid-19 outbreak (up from 88% last week).
  • All the measures aimed at reducing the spread of the virus have increased observation compared to last week.
    Gender Age Group Location
  Total Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+ Capital Non-Capital
Increased personal hygiene measures (e.g. hand washing) 79% 74% 84% 72% 80% 85% 79% 80%
Limited attending social spaces, shops, restaurants or group events 75% 68% 83% 66% 77% 82% 75% 76%
Stopped physical greetings (e.g. shaking hands, kissing, hugging) 73% 69% 78% 60% 73% 85% 73% 74%
Bought additional groceries to stock-up 41% 39% 43% 43% 43% 38% 44% 36%
Reduced use of cash to pay for purchases 43% 40% 47% 44% 44% 42% 44% 42%
Changed working patterns (e.g. changed hours, or working from home) 33% 33% 32% 47% 36% 17% 37% 24%
None of these 5% 7% 3% 5% 4% 6% 5% 5%
Base (n) 1,086 539 547 341 362 383 727 359
  • Women and participants over 55 years olds are more likely to have changed their behaviour since the Covid-19 outbreak, than men and 18-34 year olds.
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