Almost Two-Thirds of Canadians Concerned about COVID-19
More than half say
public health authorities are doing a good job
Toronto, March
6th - In a random sampling of public opinion taken
by The Forum Poll™ among 1112 Canadian voters, about two-thirds (BTM2: 62%) say they are concerned about
COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus, with a quarter (25%) saying they are
very concerned.
About 4 in 10 (TOP2: 38%) say they are
not concerned with the virus, with about one-sixth (16%) saying they aren't
concerned at all.
Those under 25 (70%) are the most
likely to express concerns about COVID-19, slightly above those 65+ (66%).
Ontarians (66%) and residents of the Atlantic provinces (68%) are also likely
to express concern.
Those aged 25-34 (51%) are the least
likely to express concern, well above the other age categories. Residents of
the prairies (MB/SK)(43%) and BC (44%) are also less likely to express concern than
residents of other provinces.
Public Health System gets a passing grade
More than half (TOP2: 58%) say
they rate Canada's public-health system's response to the virus so far as good,
with a quarter (24%) saying it's very good.
Only a quarter (BTM2: 28%) rate the response as not good, with about
one-sixth (15%) saying it's not been good at all.
Respondents aged 65+ (70%) are most likely to say that the public-health
response has been good, as are residents of Atlantic Canada (68%).
Those under 25 (32%), 35-44 (30%), and 45-54 (29%), are most likely to
say the response has not been good, as well as those living in the prairies
(MB/SK)(39%) (which is actually tied for the number of prairies' residents who
feel the response has been good (40%)).
One-sixth think they've heard that people of Asian-ancestry are
more susceptible to COVID-19
One-sixth (14%) feel that they've heard those with Asian-ancestry are
more susceptible to COVID-19...which is false.
A strong majority (70%) know that people of Asian-ancestry are no more
likely, or less likely, than anyone else to be susceptible to COVID-19.
A few (6%) said people of Asian-ancestry are less susceptible to
COVID-19, which is also false. About 1 in 10 (10%) said they do not know.
Those under 25 (27%) are most likely by far to say they've heard people
of Asian-ancestry are more susceptible to COVID-19. In fact, they're more than
twice as likely to say it than any other age category.
Most know a facemask isn't an effective way to avoid the virus
Two-thirds (65%) say, correctly, that a facemask isn't an effective way to
avoid the virus. One-fifth (18%) say, incorrectly, that a facemask is an
effective way to avoid the virus, while a similar proportion (17%) say they
don't know.
Those most likely to incorrectly say a facemask is an effective way to
avoid the virus include those under the age of 25 (31%) or living in Québec (22%).
Eight in 10 know frequent hand-washing is an effective way to
avoid COVID-19
Eight in 10 (83%) correctly say that frequent hand-washing is an
effective way to avoid COVID-19, while 1 in 10 (8%) say it isn't, and a similar
proportion say they don't know (9%).
Those most likely to say, incorrectly, that frequent hand-washing is not
an effective way to avoid COVID-19 include ages 25-34 (9%), 35-44 (8%), and 65+
(11%).
Most not stockpiling supplies because of the virus...but...
Eight in 10 (79%) say they aren't stockpiling supplies such as food,
water, or toilet paper, but one-fifth (17%) say they are. A few (4%) say they
don't know.
Those aged 25 and younger (18%) and those aged 65+ (21%) are most likely
to say they're stockpiling supplies, as are residents of BC (25%).
Only a third identify 20 seconds as recommended hand-washing
time
A third (32%) were able to
identify 20 seconds as the optimal
hand-washing time, which is the generally recommended duration.
Those under 25 (35%), 55-64 (37%), and 65+ (35%) were most likely to
correctly identify 20 seconds, as were residents of Ontario (39%), the prairies
(MB/SK)(37%) or BC (38%).
“The majority of Canadians are concerned with COVID-19, and most haven't
been caught up in any of the misinformation about the virus,” said Dr. Lorne
Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. "One note of concern, however, are
the responses of young people; not only are they the age group most likely to
say they're worried about the virus, and think public-health organizations aren't
doing a good job, they're also most likely to draw a few incorrect conclusions
about the virus, as well."
Lorne Bozinoff,
Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at
lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.
