Poll: 63% of Czechs don’t feel threatened by COVID-19

Most Czechs are not afraid of coronavirus, although they are not taking it lightly, according to the survey by the STEM/MARK agency. Moreover, only ten percent of Czechs, mostly older people, feel threatened by it.

“The public does not feel strongly threatened by COVID-19, but it also does not take it lightly. However, there is a tenth of the population, primarily the older generation, that feels strongly threatened. On the contrary, there is an increasing tendency for young people under the age of 29 to underestimate the disease,” the survey states.

When asked whether people perceive COVID-19 as a threat or a common disease, 46 percent said it was not a threat, although it is a serious matter, and another 17 percent said COVID-19 was no different from regular flu.

According to more than half of the Czechs, the government should have introduced more strict measures in the summer. It is, therefore, not surprising that the majority of the public no longer has such confidence in the current government. Two-thirds of the people are not satisfied with the cabinet’s actions.

“Only a tenth of young people trust the government. The confidence in the government is higher among older people, reaching almost 50 percent. When evaluating the overall situation in society, we could say that only one-fifth of respondents believe that the current government can handle the crisis,” commented Ondřej Klubal from the STEM/MARK agency on the results of the survey.

According to most people, replacing health minister Adam Vojtěch with Roman Prymula did not cause any significant change. More than two-thirds of people say everything has remained the same or even got worse since the arrival of Minister Prymula.

Does smart quarantine work?

Almost two-thirds of Czechs do not believe that the so-called smart quarantine works.

“Tracing people through public health offices can take a long time due to the overwhelmed system. The required quarantine then loses its meaning and restricts citizens’ ability to return to work. Doubts about the proper functioning of the smart quarantine system are, therefore, expected,” explained Klubal.

One of the basic elements of smart quarantine is the eRouška app, which notifies the user about being in contact with a person who later tested positive for COVID-19. However, according to the survey, almost three-quarters of respondents have not yet downloaded the app.