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- The Sotomo research center conducted a representative survey on behalf of the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) in July.
- Get to the end: the use of a mask in public transport is very widespread. Three out of five people also say yes to a mask requirement in stores.
- The situation in the workplace and beyond is different: a clear majority of respondents are against making masks mandatory in these areas.
- In addition, the authorities and the media have lost confidence since the start of the pandemic.
Public confidence in the efficacy of hygienic masks has increased. Masks have not been universally accepted, but diffusion has increased significantly. The obligation to use public transport is also widely accepted.
And the requirement for masks in public transport means that people increasingly wear a mask outside of trains and buses: Before the introduction on July 6, 16 percent of respondents said they sometimes wear a mask in Public spaces. Since it was mandatory to wear a mask, 45 percent always or sometimes wear a mask outside of public transport.
At the same time, the rejection of mandatory masks at work and outdoors has increased. In April, 37 percent of those surveyed said they were in favor of a mask requirement at work, compared with 33 percent at the end of July. The approval for the mandatory use of a mask in public spaces has even dropped from 29 to 25 percent.
Confidence in the media and authorities is falling
Compared to the start of the pandemic in March, the population’s need for information is slowly decreasing and normalization is being established. In mid-March, 82 percent of those surveyed claimed to have obtained information about the coronavirus through Swiss television (SRF), but in the meantime 60 percent is even more “normal”, as Sotomo writes. Public television channels continue to be the most important information channels.
The information intermediaries, on the one hand the authorities, on the other hand the media, lost confidence between March and July. The survey also shows that during this time all the media lost a higher than average amount of trust. With the latest communication failures, the Federal Council and the BAG no longer enjoy the same level of trust as at the beginning of the pandemic. Scientists are no longer trusted.
Since the number of new corona virus infections has increased again, the concern among the population has increased again. Unrest has increased the most in Italian-speaking Switzerland, the region that was hit particularly hard at the start of the pandemic but is currently experiencing the smallest increase in new infections.
In case of doubt for the application
The most important reason to install the SwissCovid app is to make a solidarity contribution to public health. The reasons that spoke against an installation among the respondents are more diverse: doubts about data protection, disinterest and even doubts about the effectiveness of the app.
Despite the concerns: 40 percent said they would install the app if Covid cases spiked. Many also fear a new closure of society and the economy. The “installation of the application (would) obviously be a minor ‘evil’ for many,” interprets the research center.
