How the public feel amid news lockdown will go on until May

Coronavirus daily tracker: 16th April 2020

As restrictions ease in some countries worldwide, the UK public prepares for another three weeks of social isolation

One in eight (12%) say their disposable income has actually increased – up from fewer than one in ten last week.

The government can likely rest assured that people will continue to adhere to lockdown restrictions with 86% saying they continue to stick to the rules. Even bank holidays and warm weather hasn’t seemed to affect this figure.

However, on a wider level, approval of the government and individual public figures has fallen. The approval of Michael Gove and Matt Hancock has dropped by at least 10 points, while the Prime Minister’s rating fell by 8 points. The government’s overall approval rating has dropped to 41% – it’s lowest rating since the 23^rd March.

Two in five people (40%) think the government isn’t doing enough to support each of the NHS, small businesses (highest since 2^nd April) and the self-employed (highest since 5^th April).

In terms of other institutions, the public is largely happy with supermarkets’ handling of the crisis (72% approval), as well as the police (63%) despite reports of an over-zealous approach towards the beginning of the lockdown.

Worry levels, disposable income and working

On a more personal level, more than half of people (52%) are still worried about Covid-19 and two in five (38%) are telling us that their disposable income has decreased as a result of coronavirus. However, one in eight (12%) say their disposable income has actually increased – up from fewer than one in ten last week.

In terms of work, around one in seven people are working fewer hours than normal while one in five have been furloughed, with a quarter of those getting the 20% top-up pay from their employer. Around one in twenty people have been forced to take unpaid leave and approximately one in fifty people have been made redundant.

Socially, we saw quite a drop in people leaving the house over the weekend, but this was down in part to fewer people going to work over the long weekend, as we found that half of people told us yesterday they left the house the day before.

There was a big drop in the number of people going to exercise and visiting the supermarket over the long weekend. Roughly a quarter of people are going to the supermarket when they leave the house, while over a third (36%) are going out to exercise. One in twenty (5%) are still going to visit friends and family, either in their house even if they remain outside, or in an open public space.

We will be updating our coronavirus tracker daily and weekly as this unprecedented pandemic unfolds. Please get in touch for more information