The Big Conversation: How the pandemic has really affected us

With over six months having passed since a national lockdown was levied on March 23, life in the UK has changed beyond recognition.
PACEMAKER PRESS BELFAST
18/4/2020
Belfast City Centre today amid the coronavirus pandemic. Police patrols have been increased over the last week in a bid to tackle the spread of coronavirus and fines are now being issued to people who breach restrictions. 
Photo Pacemaker PressPACEMAKER PRESS BELFAST
18/4/2020
Belfast City Centre today amid the coronavirus pandemic. Police patrols have been increased over the last week in a bid to tackle the spread of coronavirus and fines are now being issued to people who breach restrictions. 
Photo Pacemaker Press
PACEMAKER PRESS BELFAST 18/4/2020 Belfast City Centre today amid the coronavirus pandemic. Police patrols have been increased over the last week in a bid to tackle the spread of coronavirus and fines are now being issued to people who breach restrictions. Photo Pacemaker Press

Employees have moved to working from home en masse, meeting up with over six people is now a crime enshrined in law and face mask wearing is mandatory in much of the public sphere.

All these changes have uprooted and altered many people’s attitudes, priorities and lives, which is why we asked readers across the country about what’s changed for you in our Big Conversation survey.

The Big Conversation survey – created by JPI Media – looked at a range of issues surrounding the pandemic, including changes to personal lives, travel habits, health, employment, local life and fears and hopes for the post-pandemic world.

Shipquay Street deserted earlier this week. DER1720GS - 025Shipquay Street deserted earlier this week. DER1720GS - 025
Shipquay Street deserted earlier this week. DER1720GS - 025

Over the coming weeks we will be looking at these issues in more depth, but here’s a flavour of what we found from the people of Northern Ireland.

Getting out and about

City and town centres have suffered as a result of the pandemic, with a sustained drop in footfall even after March lockdown restrictions were lifted.

This is reflected in answers from respondents, with the majority saying they have visited their town or city centre “less” (21 per cent) or “a lot less” (49 per cent) than they did prior to lockdown.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 22nd April 2020 -  

General view of †̃The Emigrantsâ€TM by artist Eamonn Oâ€TMDoherty on Derryâ€TMs quayside after someone attached surgical masks to the statue/

Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye.Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 22nd April 2020 -  

General view of †̃The Emigrantsâ€TM by artist Eamonn Oâ€TMDoherty on Derryâ€TMs quayside after someone attached surgical masks to the statue/

Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye.
Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 22nd April 2020 - General view of †̃The Emigrantsâ€TM by artist Eamonn Oâ€TMDoherty on Derryâ€TMs quayside after someone attached surgical masks to the statue/ Photo by Lorcan Doherty / Press Eye.

Just four per cent said they are visiting “more”, and two per cent “a lot more”.

In terms of confidence in venturing out of the house, “visiting beaches, parks and green spaces” is an activity that 85 per cent of respondents said they feel either “comfortable” or “very comfortable” doing.

This stands in contrast to “going on holidays or short breaks in the UK”, which just 13 per cent feel “very comfortable” with, and 29 per cent “comfortable” with.

Confidence in taking public transport is low, with 71 per cent of respondents saying they feel either “not comfortable” or “not at all comfortable” with it.

Respondents were unsure how confident they felt sending their children back to school, with the majority - 44 per cent - saying they didn’t know or weren’t sure how comfortable they felt with the idea.

Personal life

Respondents voted “visiting family” as the most important activity for a good quality of life - either pre- or post-pandemic - with 76 per cent saying this was important to their personal quality of life.

Eating at cafes/restaurants was a fairly close second, with two-thirds of respondents saying this was important to their personal quality of life.

Over half of respondents have become more thrifty since the pandemic began, with 55 per cent saying they’ve cut back on spending.

And while the High Street may have suffered from a drop in footfall, many local businesses have done well as a result of the crisis, with 63 per cent of respondents saying they are supporting local businesses more than they once were.

Health

A number of respondents - 49 per cent - have not needed an appointment with a hospital or specialist since the pandemic began.

However, of the 50 per cent who did make an appointment, 43 per cent said they found making an appointment either “difficult” or “very difficult”.

The statement that “Future healthcare funding should focus mostly on increasing the numbers of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers” was agreed with by 83 per cent of respondents, but just 51 per cent said that they would pay more tax to fund health and social care services.

Getting online

Most respondents believe they’ve adapted to the move of many activities online well, with 43 per cent saying they’ve adapted “very well” and 46 per cent saying they’ve adapted “fairly well”.

For those who have struggled in some regard, the biggest problem - suffered by 62 per cent of respondents - was not having someone to turn to for help.

Employment

At the time of the survey, 46 per cent of respondents said they are currently in paid work, followed by 38 per cent who aren’t.

Just five per cent of respondents were on furlough.

Job security or income was a worry for some, with 34 per cent of respondents saying they were “concerned” or “very concerned” about their job security or income, while 46 per cent said they were “concerned” or “very concerned” about their personal or household finances.

Local life

Refuse collection and recycling services were rated as the highest quality service during the pandemic, with 84 per cent rating them “good” or “very good”.

The emergency services were rated as “good” or “very good” during the pandemic by 55of respondents.

Social care services were deemed one of the lowest quality during the pandemic, with just 26 per cent of respondents rating them “good” or “very good”.

Three-quarters of respondents believe that local hospitals are most in need of increased spending, while 54 per cent said social care is in need of increased spending.

Over a third - 33.54 per cent - believe that their community has got stronger since the pandemic began, but the highest number - 43.71 per cent - say it has become neither weaker nor stronger.

When it comes to tourism, most - 41.93 per cent - believe there has been no change to how much they value it, but 36.1 per cent say they value it more.

The majority of respondents indicated that they are missing face-to-face contact with a GP, with 80.36 per cent saying they would like to access advice from their GP in person in the coming months.

Most - 61.67 per cent - however, would prefer to access prescriptions online in the coming months.

In terms of mental health, 22.70 per cent say their mental health has been “strongly affected” by the pandemic, while 43.60 per cent say it has been “slightly affected”.

Fears, concerns and hopes

There are some things that people want to see change permanently post-pandemic.

The largest proportion of respondents - 84 per cent - said that action to shift the the work/life balance in favour of family and leisure time was “important” or “very important” to them.

Greater flexibility to work from home and less emphasis on on-site working was deemed “important” or “very important” by 69.55 per cent of respondents.

Greater provision of affordable and carbon-neutral housing was deemed “important” or “very important” to 64.39 per cent of respondents

Looking forward to Christmas, 71.06 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “The Christmas period will be a good opportunity to support local businesses”.

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