Worries about catching Covid-19 stay low as lockdown eases

Despite the relaxation of lockdown measures enabling many people to return to more normal activities, worries about catching the virus show little sign of changing, finds UCL's Covid-19 social study. During lockdown there has been a steady decline across the UK in worries about Covid-19. At the beginning, half of adults were worried about catching the virus and becoming seriously ill, and now just 35% are worried and only 15% are seriously worried, according to the ongoing study of over 90,000 adults carried out since the start of  the coronavirus pandemic. The ongoing study, which was launched in the week before lockdown, is funded by the Nuffield Foundation with additional support from Wellcome and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It is the UK's largest study into how adults are feeling about the lockdown, government advice and overall wellbeing and mental health. The study shows that worries about catching the virus and becoming seriously ill from it are similar across age groups, even though younger adults are at far lower risk of serious complications from the virus. Worries are also higher in people of lower household income and people diagnosed with a mental health condition.