Half of Canadians taking precautions against coronavirus: poll
Credit to Author: Tiffany Crawford| Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2020 16:09:37 +0000
Half of Canadians are taking extra precautions because of the new coronavirus, such as washing their hands, wearing asks or avoiding public places, but overall the anxiety remains low, according to a new poll.
The Angus Reid Institute poll, conducted Feb. 4 and Feb. 5, found that only 30 per cent of Canadian adults surveyed said they are worried that they may contract the virus.
However, Angus Reid says there is more anxiety about the impact on the community. The poll found 40 per cent are concerned about the impact the outbreak may have on their community, and 76 per cent are concerned about the impact on the global community, as they watch the death count rise in China.
The latest numbers from China, as of Wednesday, put the death toll from the outbreak to 490, with more than 24,000 people infected. B.C. confirmed its second case on Tuesday.
The poll also shows that half of Canadians said they are taking precautions such as washing their hands more frequently or avoiding crowded places. Wearing masks as a precaution remains low, however, at only three per cent.
Also, nearly half (48 per cent) say they would cancel travel plans in and around China. Eight per cent said the coronavirus would not affect their travel plans.
Other findings include that 33 per cent said they are not confident in their province’s front-line health services to handle a coronavirus outbreak. Those in Atlantic Canada were the least confident in their health care system (57 per cent) allowed by Saskatchewan and Manitoba (44 per cent.) In B.C., 33 per cent were not confident the system could handle an outbreak, compared with 62 per cent who said they are confident.
Most respondents (69 per cent) agreed that the threat of a coronavirus is overblown, while 33 per cent said the threat is real and should be taken seriously.
The survey of 1,354 Canadian adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
ticrawford@postmedia.com