New Delhi (NVI): Amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus, a new global survey has found that there is strong public support for quarantine and travel ban to contain the outbreak and more than 80% of respondents are in favour of mandatory screening of people travelling from infected countries.
Researchers have found high levels of concern about the dangers posed by the respiratory virus, which has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization and is officially named COVID-19.
In the survey by IPSOS, a global research specialist, it was found that more than half of respondents in Japan, Australia and the US feel the outbreak represents a high or very high threat to the world. In France and Germany this drops to just below half, and concern levels fall further in Canada, Russia and the UK.
For a third of people surveyed, the threat level remains moderate. While almost 60% of people surveyed think the virus poses a low threat.
Whereas, on an average, a fifth of people think the outbreak has been contained and the danger will soon be over.
But more than twice as many people disagree, expressing concerns that the threat from the virus is ongoing. This viewpoint was expressed by more than half of respondents in Canada, UK and Australia.
Regardless of differing opinions about the virus, the majority of respondents were united in their desire to stay informed about its spread. More than 80% of people contacted by the survey had seen, read or heard a great deal or a fair amount about the outbreak.
There is widespread support for significant actions to control the virus. More than 80% of respondents are in favour of mandatory screening of people travelling from infected countries, and there is similar support for mandatory quarantine of those suspected of contracting the disease.
Other measures garnering support include airline restrictions on flights to China and travel bans to and from affected countries.
Meanwhile, China on Friday reported 121 more deaths from the coronavirus outbreak, 116 of which are from the epicentre of the infection in Hubei Province alone, bringing to at least 1,488 the total number of deaths across the country.
