Public attitudes to Coronavirus: November update

Overall trends and key points

There are a number of trends observable across the polling data:

• Concerns around a second wave of the virus are evident. Belief that there is a risk of a local outbreak, and worry about going back into lockdown if the number of new cases keeps increasing, were high but fluctuated during September and October.
• The majority of people feel like they are coping okay during the Coronavirus situation, although the proportion who feel lonely all, almost all, or most of the time in the past week increased between September and mid-October. Around four in ten said they are worried about the effect of the restrictions on their mental health.
• There are also concerns about the effect of Coronavirus on jobs and the economy. Around one quarter of those employed perceived there to be a ‘very high’ or ‘high’ threat to their job from Coronavirus, and four fifths agreed that they are worried about the long-lasting effect of the restrictions on jobs and the economy.
• Claimed importance of and compliance with FACTS behaviours was high in September and October, with 87% or more rating each of the five behaviours as very or fairly important, and 90% or more reporting that they had followed guidance to wear a face covering when required, wash hands regularly for at least 20 seconds with soap and water, and avoid crowded places very or fairly well.
• Levels of trust in the Scottish Government to decide when and how to lift and re-impose restrictions fell at the beginning of October. However, the majority indicate a positive view of the way the virus is being handled in Scotland, as three quarters agreed that the best thing to do in the current situation is to follow the Government’s advice.