Public concern about the Covid-19 pandemic declined this month, Core states in its latest Consumer Mindset report, which has tracked sentiment about the virus for the past 21 months. Just 42 per cent of people remain concerned, down from 48 per cent in December and a sharp decline on the January 2020 figure when concern peaked at 71 per cent.
Core’s Finian Murphy said one in two people are optimistic we can overcome Covid-19, with almost 30 per cent looking forward to a full re-opening. While concern about the pandemic is in decline and restrictions are set to ease, caution still remains around socialising too much too soon with over 30 per cent of people still hesitant to meet friends or go places.
Some 17 per cent of respondents are happy to “wait a bit longer” before returning to full socialising. The report shows there is a significant increase in confidence among the Irish public when it comes certain activities including flying, going to restaurants or pubs indoors and returning to the office/workplace.
- 2.4 million people are confident to meet friends for drinks or dinner indoors
- Over 1.8m people are happy to travel on public transport
- 1.7m people are looking forward to return to the office, workplace and college
- 1.3m people are confident in flying abroad
- Over 1.5m are confident to attend an outdoor sporting event
- Almost 1.3m are confident to go to an outdoor music / cultural event
- Almost 1m people are looking forward to dancing indoors in a club or at an indoor concert
Fieldwork was conducted by Core Research, with interviews with 1,000 adults representative of the Irish population in January 2022. To read the full report, visit: www.linkedin.com
