Coronavirus infection: Perceived safety grows
The coronavirus pandemic has shaped everyday life in Germany for months. In the meantime, however, the population seems to have found more serenity. This is indicated by the results of the eighth "BfR-Corona-Monitor", a regular survey by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). While in the first survey in March only 28 percent of the respondents thought they could protect themselves against an infection with the novel coronavirus, this figure has now risen to 41 percent. "There are further signs that people are less worried," says BfR President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel. "For example, the proportion of people who fear a large impact of the coronavirus disease on their health dropped from 37 to 26 percent in the same period."
In order to protect themselves from being infected, more than half of the respondents state they avoid the public. 40 percent say that they wear protective clothing such as gloves or masks. At the same time, however, the acceptance of the obligation to wear masks fell by nine percentage points to 73 percent compared to the previous week.
Apparently, the increased sense of security is also linked to a growing desire for more leisure activities. While in the first survey 97 percent of the respondents were in favour of closing cultural institutions such as cinemas or theatres, seven weeks later only 77 percent still consider this measure to be appropriate. With regard to restrictions on travel activities and controls at the German border, attitudes are also changing: although these measures are still accepted by the majority, a downward trend has become apparent over the past weeks.
The BfR is continually updating its FAQs on the topic of coronavirus, in light of the dynamically changing situation.
About the BfR-Corona-Monitor
The BfR-Corona-Monitor is a recurring (multi-wave) representative survey of the German population's perception of risks from the novel coronavirus. Since 24 March 2020, around 500 randomly selected people have been asked by telephone every Tuesday about their perception of the risk of infection and the protective measures they have taken, amongst other things. A summary of the data is regularly published on the homepage of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. More information about the method and sample can be found in publications about the BfR-Corona-Monitor.
About the BfR
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is a scientifically independent institution within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) in Germany. It advises the German federal government and German federal states ("Laender") on questions of food, chemical and product safety. The BfR conducts its own research on topics that are closely linked to its assessment tasks.
This text version is a translation of the original German text which is the only legally binding version.