TORONTO – A study from the Angus Reid Institute finds just half of Canadians voicing confidence that their community would go back into the same style of lockdown employed for the first wave, if a second wave were to emerge later this year.
Residents in British Columbia and Manitoba are most confident in how their communities would respond, but fewer than half in all other regions of the country hold this faith.
Two aspects of a potential second wave appear most concerning to Canadians.
The first is that 51% feel the economic damage from a second wave would be worse than the first. This anxiety is most pronounced in Alberta and Atlantic Canada.
As well, the overwhelming majority say that a second wave would be difficult for them from a mental health standpoint: 28% say it would have a very negative impact on their mental wellbeing, while 43% say it would be negative to a lesser extent.
More key findings:
– 42% of young women say that a second lockdown would have a very negative effect on their mental health while 22% say it would not affect them;
– 34% say a second lockdown would have no effect on their personal finances, while 57% say it would.
The poll can be found here www.angusreid.org/covid-19-second-wave.
