The numbers are rising, but: – Austrians are calm about the Corona autumn

In the survey conducted from September 19 to 22, only six percent of respondents assessed the chance of a new corona wave in the coming months as “very high”, and another 33 percent as “somewhat high”. More than half of those surveyed (53 percent) consider it unlikely – regardless of age – that there will be a major deterioration of the situation, the rest do not comment on this. FPÖ supporters are significantly less likely to expect a new wave of Covid-19 than sympathizers of other political parties.

Only 34 percent are afraid of contamination
While last year 43 percent of respondents believed that the pandemic was under control, two-thirds of them are currently convinced. At the same time, the share of those who are afraid of becoming infected themselves or from family members has fallen from 43 percent in September 2022 to currently 34 percent. In addition, half of those surveyed believe that the risks of the coronavirus are exaggerated. A year ago, 44 ​​percent expressed this opinion.

Confidence in the government’s Corona policy has increased slightly. While a year ago, 35 percent of the population thought the government was taking the right steps to combat the pandemic or “dealing with the coronavirus appropriately,” this figure is now 41 percent. Nearly three-quarters of the population believes it is right that mandatory vaccination has been abolished. “Covid-19 has now lost its horror. Since there are currently no reports of worrying new variants and many people have had an infection or been vaccinated, there is a noticeable calm in dealing with the virus,” said the head of the Gallup Institute, Andrea Fronaschütz, explaining the results . the research.

Approval for new lockdown vanishingly low
The population also has great confidence that there will be no more restrictions on freedom in the future. The vast majority (84 percent) consider it unlikely that there will be a new lockdown this autumn or winter. Only three percent rate the chance of a lockdown as ‘very high’ and eight percent as ‘somewhat high’. If it were to happen, the willingness of the population to support the measures would be significantly lower than in the first two years of the pandemic. While in April 2020 more than 80 percent of Austrians were willing to temporarily give up some of their freedoms, this share fell to 60 percent in the autumn of the previous year and currently stands at 55 percent.

People over 50 are largely willing to give up their civil liberties if it helps fight the pandemic (62 percent), but younger age groups are more cautious in this regard (49 percent of 18 to 30 year olds and 48 percent of between 31 and 50 years). There are big differences depending on political orientation: only 24 percent of those who support the FPÖ say they would accept restrictions on freedom to contain the pandemic. Green sympathizers, on the other hand, would be 86 percent willing to do this. The majority of supporters of the SPÖ (72 percent), the ÖVP (69 percent) and the NEOS (64 percent) also express their agreement with the necessary measures.

“Given the declining willingness to support renewed restrictions, it is all the more important to control the pandemic through prevention and education. Education about the risks of Covid-19 and precautions should not be neglected,” said Fronaschütz.