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Publication - Research and analysis

Public attitudes to coronavirus: April summary

Published
8 May 2020
Directorate
Constitution Directorate
Part of
Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland
ISBN
9781839607288

High level findings from recent polling work on public attitudes to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Scotland.

This document is part of a collection

View supporting documents Supporting documents

Compliance

Views on guidance

Respondents were asked about their views on government guidance and advice. The vast majority agreed that the best thing to do is follow government advice; however, as shown in Figure 4, the proportion who strongly agreed with that statement has fallen over the past three survey waves. However, agreement overall remains high at 85%. There was also a slight fall in April in the proportion who strongly agree that 'by staying at home we are all helping to save lives'. Strong agreement with this statement nevertheless remains high at 64% of respondents.

Figure 4: Proportions who agreed or disagreed with each statement on government advice and guidance
Figure 4: Proportions who agreed or disagreed with each statement on government advice and guidance

Source: YouGov weekly Scotland survey. Base (n=1002-1042)

Levels of compliance

Respondents were asked which social distancing guidelines they were following from a list provided. As shown in Figure 5, the majority of respondents said they were following guidance about avoiding contact, gatherings and non-essential travel or trips, with relatively little change over the month. However, there are still a substantial minority of respondents not following each of the guidelines.

Of those who were employed, just under half said they were working from home. As many as one in four respondents indicated they were not leaving their home at all.

Figure 5: Proportions following each of the social distancing measures
Figure 5: Proportions following each of the social distancing measures

Source: Ipsos MORI, Scotland data. Scottish base (n=652-668)

Knowledge of acceptable actions

Respondents were asked which of a list of actions were acceptable, given that the government has been asking people to stay at home. There was little change in people's perceptions throughout April.

As shown in Figure 6, the majority of respondents were aware that, in a household where no-one has symptoms, they can go food shopping, phone/video call friends and family, walk/exercise outside once a day and collect a prescription for a neighbour. Half were aware that they can take public transport to essential work, and this had increased in the latest survey wave.

Only a small proportion identified 'incorrect' actions as acceptable – dropping shopping into a neighbour's kitchen, walking/exercising outside more than once a day and driving to the countryside for a walk.

Figure 6: Proportions who think each of the below actions is acceptable in a household where no one has symptoms
Figure 6: Proportions who think each of the below actions is acceptable in a household where no one has symptoms

Source: YouGov weekly Scotland survey. Base (n=1002-1042)

Contact

Email: covid-19.behaviours@gov.scot

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