Roy Morgan Research
April 14, 2020

Slightly more Britons (68%) than Australians (65%) now say their Government is handling COVID-19 well

Topic: Press Release, Public Opinion, Special Poll
Finding No: 8371
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Over two-third of Britons (68%) now say the UK Government is handling COVID-19 well, up 19% since March 18-20, 2020. This is slightly higher than the 65% of Australians who say the Australian Government is handling COVID-19 well – which increased a large 22% from a week earlier.

Now two-thirds of Britons (66%) say the ‘worst is yet to come’ over the next month regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, down 16% from mid-March. The decline in Australia has been steeper with 59% of Australians now saying the ‘worst is yet to come’ – down a significant 26% in a week according to a special Roy Morgan web survey of an Australia-wide cross-section of 987 Australians aged 18+ conducted over the weekend of April 4-5, 2020.

In addition, almost nine-in-ten Britons (89%) agree the UK Government guidance on social distancing is clear and easy to understand compared to only 9% that disagree.

Interviewing in the UK was conducted on Wednesday April 8, 2020 with a UK-wide cross-section of 2,112 respondents aged 18+ by the London-based ORB International which is the UK Member of the Gallup International Association and affiliated with Roy Morgan.

Australians were asked a series of six questions to determine their views regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world. The first five questions were on a five-point scale with strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree and don’t know the available responses.

  • Question 1: “I am afraid that either myself or someone in my family may actually catch the Coronavirus?”
  • Question 2: “I think the Australian Government is handling the Coronavirus well?”
  • Question 3: “I believe the threat from the Coronavirus is exaggerated?”
  • Question 4: “I am willing to sacrifice some of my human rights if it helps prevent the spread of the virus?”
  • Question 5: “If a new Coronavirus vaccine became publicly available, I would be willing to be vaccinated?”

The final question was a choice between three outcomes. People surveyed were asked: “When thinking about the Coronavirus here in Australia which of the following do you think is most likely to happen over the next month. Either the ‘Worst is yet to come’, the ‘Situation will remain the same’ or ‘Things will begin to improve’.”

Britons were asked a series of six questions to determine their views regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world. The first five questions were on a five-point scale with strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree and don’t know the available responses.

  • Question 2: “I think the UK Government is handling the Coronavirus well?”
  • Question 7: “I think that the UK Government guidance on social distancing is clear and easy to understand?”
  • Question 8: “People in my neighbourhood are for the most part respecting the rules in place designed to save lives and protect the NHS?”
  • Question 9: “I/Member of my immediate household has experienced a decrease in income since the COVID-19 crisis started here in the UK?”
  • Question 10: “I/Members of my household are struggling to cope mentally with the current restrictions in place for COVID-19?”

The final question was a choice between three outcomes. People surveyed were asked: “When thinking about the Coronavirus here in the UK which of the following do you think is most likely to happen over the next month. Either the ‘Worst is yet to come’, the ‘Situation will remain the same’ or ‘Things will begin to improve’.”

Click here to view the full details of the Australian results.

Question 2: Do you think the Australian/UK Government is handling the Coronavirus well

Source: Roy Morgan web surveys of Australians conducted on the weekends of March 28-29, 2020, n=988 and April 4-5, 2020, n=987 and ORB International web surveys of Britons conducted on March 18-20, 2020, n=2,094 and April 8, 2020, n=2,112. Base: Australians and Britons aged 18+.

Question 6: When thinking about the Coronavirus here in the Australia/UK which of the following do you think is most likely to happen over the next month

Source: Roy Morgan web surveys of Australians conducted on the weekends of March 28-29, 2020, n=988 and April 4-5, 2020, n=987 and ORB International web surveys of Britons conducted on March 18-20, 2020, n=2,094 and April 8, 2020, n=2,112. Base: Australians and Britons aged 18+.

Question 2: I think the UK/Australian Government is handling the Coronavirus well

UK 18+ Australians 18+
Mar 18-20,
2020
Apr 8,
2020
Mar 28-29,
2020
Apr 4-5,
2020
% % % %
NET: Agree 49 68 43 65
Strongly agree 11 21 9 21
Agree 38 47 34 44
Disagree 22 16 33 23
Strongly disagree 16 9 16 6
NET: Disagree 37 25 49 29
Don’t know 14 7 8 6
TOTAL 100 100 100 100

Question 6: When thinking about the Coronavirus here in UK/Australia which of the following do you think is most likely to happen over the next month

UK 18+ Australians 18+
Mar 18-20,
2020
Apr 8,
2020
Mar 28-29,
2020
Apr 4-5,
2020
% % % %
Worst is yet to come 82 66 85 59
Situation will remain the same 15 29 11 33
Things will begin to improve 3 5 4 8
TOTAL 100 100 100 100

Question 7: I think that (UK) Government guidance on social distancing is clear and easy to understand

UK 18+
Apr 8,
2020
%
NET: Agree 89
Strongly agree 47
Agree 42
Disagree 7
Strongly disagree 2
NET: Disagree 9
Don’t know 2
TOTAL 100

Question 8: People in my neighbourhood are for the most part respecting the rules in place that are designed to save lives and protect the NHS (National Health System)

UK 18+
Apr 8,
2020
%
NET: Agree 85
Strongly agree 29
Agree 56
Disagree 9
Strongly disagree 3
NET: Disagree 11
Don’t know 4
TOTAL 100

Question 9: I/Member of my immediate household has experienced a decrease in income since the COVID-19 crisis started here in the UK

UK 18+
Apr 8,
2020
%
NET: Agree 44
Strongly agree 21
Agree 23
Disagree 28
Strongly disagree 25
NET: Disagree 52
Don’t know 4
TOTAL 100

Question 10: I/Members of my household are struggling to cope mentally with the current restrictions in place for COVID-19

UK 18+
Apr 8,
2020
%
NET: Agree 33
Strongly agree 6
Agree 27
Disagree 39
Strongly disagree 24
NET: Disagree 63
Don’t know 4
TOTAL 100

Margin of Error

The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.

Sample Size Percentage Estimate
40% – 60% 25% or 75% 10% or 90% 5% or 95%
1,000 ±3.0 ±2.7 ±1.9 ±1.3
5,000 ±1.4 ±1.2 ±0.8 ±0.6
7,500 ±1.1 ±1.0 ±0.7 ±0.5
10,000 ±1.0 ±0.9 ±0.6 ±0.4
20,000 ±0.7 ±0.6 ±0.4 ±0.3
50,000 ±0.4 ±0.4 ±0.3 ±0.2

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