Coronavirus trends on the NHS and public behaviours

Britons continue to believe that the NHS can cope with those getting ill as a result of Coronavirus, with 84% confident and just 13% not confident (a net confidence score of +71). This is a significant improvement from two months ago when only 62% were confident.

The clear majority of the public remain concerned about the risk the coronavirus poses to themselves and even more so to the country as a whole, , but we’re now seeing steady declines in both as time goes on. Those very concerned about the country have fallen by 20 points to 43% from the high of 63% at the end of March, just a week after the Prime Minister’s first broadcast to the nation.  Meanwhile those very concerned about the risk Coronavirus poses to themselves have fallen by 11 points over the same period from a high of 36% to 25%.

There has been a slight decline in the percentage of Britons reporting that they are following Government rules and guidance with handwashing falling six points to 70% compared with a month ago, and down 12 points from a high of 82% at the end of March. Those saying they are avoiding leaving the house has also fallen, by 16 points, from a peak of 79% on 30th March to 63% currently, while there has been a smaller dip in the number of workers working from home (it is possible that some of this may reflect people’s expectations changing as they get used to the new normal of living under the coronavirus restrictions)

Conversely, we continue to see small rises in the numbers using online banking and shopping for groceries online due to the pandemic. The number of Britons who say they are wearing surgical masks is now up from 15% last month to 20% now. 

Gideon Skinner, Head of Political Research at Ipsos, said:

While we aren’t seeing ‘coronavirus fatigue’ just yet, and the British public is still pretty cautious when it comes to lifting restrictions, there are some signs that concern about the threat posed by the coronavirus is not quite as intense as it was just after the lockdown was first introduced.  However, that may in part simply reflect people becoming more used to the new normal of the situation.  One area where public attitudes certainly do remain as strong as ever, though, is in their support for the NHS as it tries to deal with the pandemic.

Technical Note 

Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,069 British adults aged 18-75 online between 8th-11th May 2020.  Data are weighted to the profile of the population