Two-thirds of Australians thought the severity and duration of COVID-19 blockades were “fair”, according to a new study, although Victorians were more likely to see pandemic emergency orders as too restrictive. The study by the University of Tasmania, which surveyed 1162 people. , revealed that only 8% of Australians thought the blockades were “definitely too restrictive”.
Another 11 percent of people thought the blockades, which often required people to stay home, to fulfill mask mandates and drastically reduce access to non-essential services, were “probably” too restrictive.
People walk through the Sydney Opera House courtyard. Sydney is deserted while people stay home due to coronavirus and social distancing measures. (Getty)
Coalition voters were three times more likely than Labor supporters to see the blockades as too heavy, while differences in attitudes between men and women also emerged in the peer-reviewed paper, published in the Australian on Tuesday. Journal of Social Issues.
Overall, 24% of men believed the blockages were higher, compared to 15% of women. When asked about her biggest concern about the deadly virus, which has killed more than 8,000 Australians since 2020, men were much more likely than women to choose the economy over health.
According to the study, people who prioritized the economy over health were less likely to wear masks in public, to register at places, to be tested in case they had to isolate themselves. and they were also less likely to get vaccinated.
Confinements in Australia were a key weapon in fighting the spread of coronavirus while people were completely vaccinated. (Getty)
When it came to health versus economics, Labor voters were almost twice as likely as Coalition supporters to be concerned about the health impacts of coronavirus.
Former Federal Health Secretary Stephen Duckett told 9News.com.au It was not surprising that Victorians were more negative about blockades than other Australians, as Melburnians lived in the outgoing treasury. Josh Frydenberg described it as the “most closed city in the world.”
“It’s probably not fair to say that there is an Australian response to COVID,” Duckett said, explaining how the six states and two territories had given “eight different responses” to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sydney aerial views show the transformed city as the blockades bite
“But what this study shows is that, on average, in all states and territories, most thought the blockades were okay,” he said.
Duckett accused the federal government of “undermining the state’s responses” to the blockades from the outset, with some senior ministers criticizing school closures and what Canberra often framed as too long border closures. .
Measures in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, in particular, were attacked, sometimes including Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
But Duckett said the study showed the government had misinterpreted public opinion.
Police on a beach in northern Sydney say crowd limits are in line with coronavirus restrictions guidelines. (SMH)
“They tried to imply that there was strong criticism and that everyone wanted freedom and so on,” he said.
“This survey, I think, pretty much reflects the reality that most Australians understood the compensation that was being done, understood the risks and considered the state’s public health responses to be reasonable.”