Readers like you keep news free for everyone.
More than 5,000 readers have already pitched in to keep free access to The Journal.
For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can help keep paywalls away.
societal impact
People were less inclined to stick to advice and more lonely during second lockdown, CSO survey says
The CSO has published its latest survey on the well-being and lifestyles of people under Level 5 restrictions.
JUST OVER ONE in ten people reported feeling downhearted or depressed “all” or “most of the time” in the last four weeks, according to the results of a new survey published today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Its survey of 1,585 individuals found that more than one in three people (35.6%) rated their overall life satisfaction as “low” this November. This compared to 29.6% in April 2020 and 8.7% in 2018.
However, more than 71% of people said the Level 5 response to managing the risks of Covid-19 was an “appropriate” measure. On the other hand, 18.3% of people felt Level 5 was “too extreme” while 10.2% of people said it was “not sufficient”.
These responses form part of the CSO’s latest survey on the societal impact of Covid-19 by looking at well-being and lifestyle under the Level 5 restrictions, which are set to expire from tomorrow.
CSO Statistician Claire Burke said: ‘The findings of the survey serve to highlight the impact that Covid-19 is having on society.”
Just under two-thirds of people (65.2%) rated their compliance with government advice and guidelines as “high”. This compares to 80.6% of people saying they had high compliance in April.
Around four in ten (39%) believe that their lives will return to something like it was before Covid-19 within the next 12 months. A further 45.3% of people believe it will take one to two years. Less than 7% believe that things will go back to some normality within the next six months.
Almost three in ten (28.7%) said that spending more quality time with the people they live with is one aspect of their lives that has changed for the better since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.
Furthermore, more people who are working from home said it was now easier (35.6%) than more difficult (27.3%). Around one in five said they were finding a better work-life balance during the pandemic than they had before.
However, the percentage of respondents who said they felt lonely “all” or “most of the time” in the four-week period doubled between April and November, from 6.8% to 12.7%.
More than 17% of female respondents felt lonely all or most of the time compared to 9.9% of male respondents. People aged 18-34 were most likely to feel lonely all or most of the time with 25.6% of those in this age group saying they felt this way.
Overall, people believed they were less likely to contract Covid-19 in November than in April. In April, 23.7% of people said they had a medium or high chance of developing Covid-19. This fell to 16% in November.
