Worry over coronavirus has decreased with time, survey suggests

By Michael McHugh, PA

Worry over coronavirus has decreased over time, research in Northern Ireland suggests.

By earlier this summer, two-thirds were concerned about the effect of Covid-19, official statisticians said.

That compares with more than three-quarters in the weeks after the first peak of the pandemic in April.

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency carried out 1,785 interviews with members of the public between April and July.

Key findings included:

– Across the period, just over seven out of 10 people (72%) said that they were very worried or somewhat worried about the effect of the coronavirus.

– More than three-quarters of those with a longstanding illness (77%) were worried about the effect the virus was having on their lives, compared with 70% without a medical condition.

– Just over six in 10 (63%) who had done so said that they were confident in their abilities to home school their children but just over a quarter (26%) disagreed.

– Most of these people (79%) also agreed that the child/children within their household were continuing to learn while being home schooled, while just over one in 10 (12%) disagreed.

Overall, just under one third of people (32%) expected the financial position of their household to get worse in the next 12 months.

Slightly more than half (55%) expected it to stay the same, while 13% believed it would get better.

There were significant differences in perceptions of how the financial position of the household would change in the next 12 months by age groups.

Almost four out of 10 aged 45-64 (38%) expected the financial position of their household to get a little or a lot worse in the next 12 months.

This was significantly higher than those aged 65 years and over (24%).

Most people aged 65 and over (71%) expected the financial position of their household to remain the same in the next 12 months.

This was significantly higher than people in the younger age groups, where just over half (51%) expected it to remain at the same level in the next 12 months.

Women reported a higher anxiety score on average than men.

People with a longstanding illness reported significantly lower wellbeing averages for life satisfaction and happiness than those without.

The vast majority of people (80%) avoided contact with older or vulnerable people.

The results show that this proportion decreased over time, to 72% in the two-week period after June 15.

Another 69 people have tested positive with Covid-19, the Department of Health said on Thursday, bringing the seven-day total to 418.

One new death was reported but it did not happen during the last 24 hours.

One person is being ventilated in hospital with the disease.