Key info
Date:
20 March 2020
Authors:
Christina Atchison, Leigh Bowman,Jeffrey W Eaton, Natsuko Imai, Rozlyn Redd, Philippa Pristera, Charlotte Vrinten, Helen Ward1
Correspondence:
1Professor Helen Ward
h.ward@imperial.ac.uk
WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Modelling; MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis; Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics; Imperial College London, UK
Now published in BMJ Open; 04-01-2021, doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043577
Summary
On Monday 16 March 2020 the UK government announced new actions to control COVID-19. These recommendations directly affected the entire UK population, and included the following: stop non-essential contact with others; stop all unnecessary travel; start working from home where possible; avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues, and to isolate at home for 14 days if anyone in the household has a high temperature or a new and continuous cough.
To capture public sentiment towards these recommendations, a YouGov survey was commissioned by the Patient Experience Research Centre (PERC), Imperial College London. The survey was completed by 2,108 UK adults between the dates of 17 – 18 March 2020. The survey results show the following:
- 77% reported being worried about the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK.
- 48% of adults who have not tested positive for COVID-19 believe it is likely they will be infected at some point in the future.
- 93% of adults reported personally taking at least one measure to protect themselves from COVID-19 infection, including:
- 83% washed their hands more frequently;
- 52% avoided crowded areas;
- 50% avoided social events;
- 36% avoided public transport;
- 31% avoided going out;
- 11% avoided going to work;
- 28% avoided travel to areas outside the UK.
- There is high reported ability and willingness to self-isolate for 7 days* if advised to do so by a health professional (88%).
- However only 44% reported being able to work from home. This was higher among managerial and professional workers (60%) than manual, semi-skilled, and casual workers (19%)^, reflecting less flexible job roles for manual and lower grade workers.
- 71% reported changing behaviour in response to government guidance. The figure (53%) was lower for young adults (18-24 year-olds).
- Hand washing (63%), avoiding persons with symptoms (61%), and covering your sneeze (53%) were more likely to be perceived as ‘very effective’ measures to prevent COVID-19 spread than common social distancing measures (avoiding going out (31%), to work (23%), to shops (16%) or to schools (19%)).
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