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LONDON (Reuters) – A large majority of people around the world want their governments to prioritize saving lives rather than measures to restart economies that are affected by measures aimed at stopping the spread of the new coronavirus, according to a survey global.
The latest findings of the “Edelman Trust Barometer”, which for two decades has surveyed tens of thousands of people about their trust in central institutions, challenge the notion that “lockdown fatigue” is increasing among populations affected by the pandemic .
Overall, 67% of the more than 13,200 people interviewed between April 15 and 23 agreed with the statement: “The highest priority of the government should be to save as many lives as possible, even if it means that the economy will recover more slowly. “
Only a third supported the claim: “It is becoming more important for the government to save jobs and restart the economy than to take every precaution to keep people safe.”
The study, produced by the American communications company Edelman, was based on field work carried out in Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
About 76% of Japanese respondents agreed that public health should take precedence over the economy compared to just 56% in China, where the outbreak was first detected late last year. China now only has a handful of new cases a day, after imposing a strict previous blockade.
In Canada, the United Kingdom and France, 70% or more of the respondents were in favor of prioritizing health problems. In the United States, where President Donald Trump encouraged protests against the blockade in some cases, the figure was 66%.
“It is complicated because you have two crises simultaneously: a health crisis and an economic crisis,” said Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman.
“But people say, ‘We’ve had six to seven weeks of this already (activity restriction), what’s an extra week or two?'”
Governments around the world have varied widely in their response to the pandemic since its first known outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan in early December.
Authorities in New Zealand and Vietnam have been praised for early measures to stop the spread with social distancing measures, while governments in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Russia and elsewhere have been criticized for the lack of preparation.
Edelman’s survey found, however, that confidence in the government institution had increased across the board, with an overall gain of 11 points from its January survey to a record high of 65%.
That figure reflects an appreciation of state support for the economy and the work of public health services. By contrast, only 29% agreed that CEOs and business leaders were doing “outstanding work” to meet the demands of the moment.
“Businesses will be closely watched in the coming months,” Edelman said, citing how companies perform in areas such as worker retention and retraining or the use of small businesses in their supply chains.
(Report of Mark John in London; Edition of Matthew Lewis)
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