People were less inclined to stick to advice and felt more alone during the second lockdown, according to a CSO survey

ONLY MORE THAN ONE in ten people reported feeling down or depressed “all” or “most of the time” in the past four weeks, according to the results of a new survey released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Its survey of 1,585 people found that more than one in three people (35.6%) rated their overall satisfaction with life as “low” in November. This compared to 29.6% in April 2020 and 8.7% in 2018.

However, more than 71% of people said that the Level 5 response to manage Covid-19 risks was an “appropriate” measure. On the other hand, 18.3% of the people considered that level 5 was “too extreme”, while 10.2% of the people said that it was “not enough”.

These responses are part of the latest CSO survey on the social impact of Covid-19 looking at well-being and lifestyle under Level 5 restrictions, which expire tomorrow.

CSO statistic Claire Burke said: “The survey results serve to highlight the impact that Covid-19 is having on society.”

Just under two-thirds of the people (65.2%) rated compliance with government guidelines and advice as “high.” This compares with 80.6% of people who reported high compliance in April.

Around four in ten (39%) believe their lives will go back to the way they were before Covid-19 in the next 12 months. Another 45.3% of people think it will take a year or two. Less than 7% believe that things will return to normal in the next six months.

Almost three in ten (28.7%) said that spending more quality time with the people they live with is an aspect of their lives that has changed for the better since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.

Also, more people who work from home said that it was now easier (35.6%) than more difficult (27.3%). About one in five said they were finding a better work-life balance during the pandemic than before.

However, the percentage of respondents who reported feeling lonely “all” or “most of the time” in the four-week period doubled between April and November, from 6.8% to 12.7%.

More than 17% of the women surveyed felt lonely all or most of the time compared to 9.9% of the men surveyed. People between the ages of 18 and 34 were more likely to feel lonely all of the time or most of the time, and 25.6% of people in this age group said they felt this way.

In general, people believed they were less likely to get Covid-19 in November than in April. In April, 23.7% of people said they had a medium or high probability of developing Covid-19. This fell to 16% in November.