A new poll shows concern has gone up in the last month for personal and community infection of the novel coronavirus among Canadians.
Angus Reid provided results of polling from March 5 and 6, compared to similar questions Feb. 4 and 5.
When asked how concerned people are about becoming personally sick, those who said they were climbed from 30 per cent in February to a full four-in-10 earlier this month.
For friends and family becoming sick, the number increased from 39 per cent to 52 per cent and concern also increased for sickness within the community from 40 to 52 per cent.
Two-thirds (66%) say they fear the COVID-19 outbreak will harm the Canadian economy, and 44 per cent say they are worried about negative affects about personal finances.
While 58 per cent say they have confidence in their own community healthcare system’s ability to deal with new coronavirus cases, that positive attitude is down from last month’s poll showing 63 per cent confidence.
The number of Canadians who say they have been stocking up on extra supplies is under one-in-five (17 per cent) and 57 per cent say they are washing their hands more often.
The number of Canadians who see the illness as a serious threat for an outbreak has spiked in the last month, going from 31 per cent in February to 42 per cent.
Feelings of the threat being overblown have softened, from 69 to 58 per cent.
CHEK News
