BfR-Corona-Monitor: Many respondents have become more cautious about coronavirus

Starting this week, the new regulations for the containment of the coronavirus adopted by the Federal Government and the Länder will come into force throughout Germany. As the results of the BfR-Corona-Monitor, a regular survey by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), show, the respondents were already more cautious last week than they were two weeks before.

The proportion of those, who say that they meet less frequently with family or friends, rose from 65 to 76 percent. Furthermore, 69 percent say, they leave their home less - an increase by 10 percentage points. "With the current increase in the number of infections, people in Germany are becoming more cautious again," comments BfR-President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel on the latest developments.

https://www.bfr.bund.de/cm/349/201027-bfr-corona-monitor-en.pdf

The majority considered the measures in force until the end of last week to be appropriate. Nevertheless, acceptance particularly for the restrictions in the cultural sector has decreased from 82 percent at the end of September to 71 percent at the end of October. The recently introduced mandated closing time, that is, closing eating and dining venues in the late evening hours, was supported by 59 percent of the respondents. Two thirds considered the associated ban on selling alcohol to be appropriate.

The current survey also shows that some concerns are growing. Now, around a quarter of the respondents are worried about their physical and mental health and a third (35 percent) about their social relationships. About one in five is still concerned about their own economic situation.

For the first time, the BfR-Corona-Monitor also measured how often the respondents use different types of media to inform themselves about the coronavirus. It was found that for this purpose more than half of the respondents watch television (61 percent) and listen to the radio (55 percent) on a daily basis. For the majority, personal contacts are also an important source of information: 89 percent state that they obtain information by talking to others at least once a week. Print media and social media, however, are used less than once a week or never by most people (50 and 66 percent).