Nearly half of adults believe it will take longer than six months for life to return to normal, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
A weekly opinions and lifestyle survey has assessed people’s attitudes to unity, equality and kindness during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Figures released on Thursday show there is a growing expectation that it will take longer for life to get back to normal.
We’ve published our latest look at the social impacts of #coronavirus on Great Britain, looking at responses from period 24 April to 3 May 2020
Our survey reports people’s evolving opinions and behaviours as the pandemic progresses https://t.co/mMIG5t9Q4C pic.twitter.com/TFfZQOGZXw
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) May 14, 2020
Of the 1,360 people surveyed, between April 24 and May 3, 47% expect it will take longer than six months, compared to 33% after the first week of lockdown.
The largest change in peoples’ beliefs came with their views on unity, with 21% thinking Britain was united before the pandemic, increasing to 57% in the recent survey.
Figures also show 67% of people think society will be kinder after the pandemic, and 22% believe it will be equal.
“Now for the first time, we’ve asked people about their attitudes and expectations of a post-pandemic nation.
“In many cases, this is optimistic, especially among older people.
“We expect Britain to become kinder and more united, although not necessarily more equal.
“There is a recognition that it will take longer for the nation to return to ‘normal’ than originally assumed, and that the economic future will be challenging.”
57% of respondents said they thought the country will be united after the #COVID19 pandemic compared with 21% who thought this before https://t.co/sPZ2i64RPk pic.twitter.com/dD1oFxQ7Yw
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) May 14, 2020
The ONS said many adults were more pessimistic when considering finance and money, with 84% expecting the country’s economy to get a little or a lot worse over the next 12 months, while 41% expect their own finances to suffer “a little or a lot”.
But it found a decrease in overall levels of concern, with 75% of people reporting they were very worried or somewhat worried about the effect that Covid-19 was having on their life now, compared with 80% of those surveyed between April 17 to 27.
Around 80% of adults claimed they had either not left their home or only left for the permitted reasons, while 39% said their personal travel plans including holidays had been affected.
Of the 37% of adults who said coronavirus was affecting their work, 28% said this was due to being furloughed.
Data for the survey was collected before the changes to lockdown rules announced on Sunday, which have eased some of the restrictions.
