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Reaction to Covid-19

24 Mar 2020

Q. Which of the following is closer to your personal views of the Covid-19 outbreak?

    Gender Age Group Location
  Total Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+ Capital Non-Capital
There has been an over-reaction to the threat of Covid-19 33% 36% 30% 39% 37% 23% 34% 30%
The response to the threat of Covid-19 is about right 39% 40% 39% 40% 33% 44% 39% 39%
The threat of Covid-19 has been under-estimated 28% 24% 32% 21% 30% 33% 27% 31%
Base (n) 1,096 519 515 342 327 365 703 331
  • A third of people believe there has been an over-reaction to the threat of Covid-19. Men (36%) and those aged 18-34 (39%) are more likely to think there has been an over-reaction than women (30%) and those aged 55+ (23%).
  • 39% think the reaction has been proportionate to the threat and 28% believe the threat has been under-estimated.
  • Those who think there has been an over-reaction are less concerned about the threat of Covid-19 (69% very/somewhat concerned, compared to 92% who think the threat has been under-estimated) and think they are less likely to contract the virus (38% to 49% very/somewhat likely to catch Covid-19).
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