How did we spend Easter weekend amid lockdown?

Coronavirus daily tracker: April 14th 2020

Only 37% of us left the house on Easter Sunday

In London just 10% haven’t seen any empty shelves compared with 45% across the rest of the South.

The latest data from our coronavirus daily tracker shows a substantial drop in those who left the house over the Easter bank holiday weekend. While 50% ventured out on Good Friday, this figure dropped to 37% on Sunday – likely due to many supermarkets, one of the few places people can actually visit, being closed.

We also saw a drop in the number of people who visited friends and family on Sunday with just 1% doing so compared with 7% at the end of last week.

Unsurprisingly it was mainly young people who ventured outside (42% compared with 33% of those over 55).

Despite fears that a bank holiday weekend and good weather would lead people to throw caution to the wind and disregard lockdown rules, we’ve seen our highest figure yet for those following government guidelines – 87%.

Worry levels, finances, and empty shelves

While most people say they are worried to some degree, one in ten of us are not concerned about coronavirus at all. A further 11% say they are worried about the pandemic but only to a limited extent. Young people and men are least concerned but a quarter (25%) of over 55s say that they are the most worried they have ever been.

In terms of finances, one in ten people say that the outbreak has led to an increase in their disposable income. This rises to 14% of Londoners.

Around two in five (42%) of the population say that they have not been financially affected as yet but a similar figure (39%) say that their income has decreased. Older people are least likely to say their wallet has been affected with 60% saying there has been no change.

The number of people seeing no empty shelves in supermarkets also continues to rise to 33%. However, it should be noted that in London just 10% haven’t seen any empty shelves compared with 45% across the rest of the South. Only the Midlands comes close with 21% saying they have not seen an empty shelf.

Following the news and government briefings

More people tuned into government briefings over the weekend as we saw updates from Priti Patel and acting PM Dominic Raab. More than four in ten of us watched live across the long weekend compared with around 30% in the days leading up to Good Friday.

Boris Johnson’s personal approval ratings continue to rise as he recuperates from Covid-19, with 35% saying they strongly approve of his handling of the pandemic – the highest of all public figures tracked.

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