The Health Foundation has published the results of a survey undertaken in July – based on 2000 responses.
It collates how public perception during the pandemic has changed. The key findings are as follows:
- The public are becoming more critical of the Government’s handling of the Coronavirus outbreak. A majority (56%) now believe that the Government has not handled it well, significantly more than in May (39%). Half of the public think that the Government measures do not go far enough (50%), while a minority believe the measures are about right (40%).
- The clarity of the Government’s current official guidance varies. The Government’s guidance on travelling safely is clear (78%), along with the guidance on self-isolation (68%) and staying safe outside the home (62%). However, significant minorities think the advice is not clear (for example, 46% think the guidance on visiting places safely is not clear) and a majority of 54% think the guidance around who and how many people they can meet with is not clear.
- There is scepticism among the public that other people are following the Government’s advice, with three in five believing that other people are not following advice on who and how many people you can meet with (62%), and advice on visiting places such as pubs and shops (59%). Perceptions of the clarity of Government advice appears to affect how the public perceive compliance with this advice –there is a clear correlation between guidance which the public believe is unclear, and guidance which the public believe other people are not following.
- The majority of the public (77%) would support a social care visa for those who want to come and start working in social care in the UK.
You can read the full report here.