Over 50% of urban Indians feel COVID-19 situation getting worse: Survey

Team Udayavani, May 21, 2020, 7:21 PM IST

Mumbai: More than half of Indians think that the coronavirus pandemic in the country is getting worse as the country has entered the fourth phase of lockdown to contain the spread, a survey has revealed.

According to market research and data company YouGov’s ‘global COVID-19 public monitor’, confidence in the recovery from the pandemic is high in countries like China, Vietnam and Taiwan, while it is the least in India, Mexico and the Philippines.

More than half of urban Indians (53 per cent) feel the current COVID situation is getting worse as compared to only 38 per cent in the country thinking it is getting better and 3 per cent saying it is completely over.

The data for the ‘global COVID-19 public monitor’ survey was collected online from 27,000 adults in 26 countries, including 1,066 in India, during May 5-14.

Along with India, majorities in the Philippines (55 per cent) and Indonesia (53 per cent) also believe that things are still on the decline, the survey revealed.

While Mexicans are the most likely to think things are getting worse (63 per cent) while only 30 per cent think they’ve already passed the peak, it added.

On the positive side, the survey revealed that most people in Asia think the situation is improving in their respective countries.

Topping the list is China, where 89 per cent believe they’re on the road to recovery and just 2 per cent thinking that the worst is yet to come. Not far behind is Vietnam, where 88 per cent feel the situation is getting better and only 3 per cent saying it’s getting worse.

In Taiwan too, 88 per cent of people feel they’re on the path to improvement and only 5 per cent thinking they aren’t yet over it, the survey said.

Among the European nations, the most optimistic is Italy, where 83 per cent believe they have put the worst of the crisis behind them, compared to 7 per cent who think they have yet to get there.

When it comes to the international situation, Indians appear more pessimistic and six in 10 think things are getting worse, and only 30 per cent think the situation is getting better globally.

When asked about their concerns regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, a large majority (73 per cent) are very or fairly worried about the pandemic’s long-lasting negative impact on the society and its severe impact on their finances (71 per cent), it added.