Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1221489
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 MARCH 2020 MALTATODAY SURVEY more informed than men ers are three times more likely t h a n Nationalists to believe the coun- try is highly prepared for the outbreak (41.3% versus 13.7%). Almost a third of PN voters (31.9%) believe the country has a low level of preparedness as op- posed to 10.6% of Labour voters. How informed do people feel? Information does not appear to be a problem to most people with 59.3% saying they are highly in- formed about the coronavi- rus. The survey has not test- ed the quality of information people claim to have but it does indicate a high level of awareness. Only 2.5% admit of being poorly informed on Cov- id-19. Women appear to be more attuned with 63.4% claiming to have a high level of information on the virus as opposed to 55.3% of men. Significantly, only 1% of wom- en say they are poorly informed, while among men the number rises to 4.1%. People in the older age groups appear to be better informed than anyone else. Among those aged between 51 and 65, 68% say they are highly in- formed, a figure that jumps up to 73.5% among those aged over 65. It appears that the constant appeals directed towards elder- ly people have made them more sensitive to the information overload on Covid-19. Among those aged between 18 and 35, 51.5% say they are highly informed, a figure that drops to 48.4% among the middle-aged. In all regions bar the South East an absolute majority of people fall within the highly-in- formed category. In the South-East region, 45.2% claim to have a high level of in- formation on the coronavirus, while 51.9% say they are moder- ately informed. The highest level of informa- tion is registered in the Western region, where 69.8% of people claim they are highly informed. Will this have an economic im- pact? There is no doubt in people's minds that the coronavirus will hit the economy and this is something they have harboured even before Malta started adopt- ing hard measures. Most calls for this survey took place before Malta even regis- tered its first case on 7 March. Key measures such as the clo- sure of schools, shutting down of air travel from some countries and mandatory quarantine pro- cedures were all introduced af- ter the survey. Nonetheless, the numbers show that people have been ex- pecting the coronavirus to have an economic impact with 82.1% believing this to be highly likely. There is no difference in ex- pectation between women and men, while the working-age population between 36 and 50 holds the strongest belief that Covid-19 will have negative eco- nomic consequences. Within this age group, 91.5% believe the virus will have a high impact. Pensioners (65+), on the oth- er hand are relatively the most optimistic, albeit 74.8% of them still believe that the economic consequences will be high. The belief that the economy will suffer highly, cuts across all regions and political allegiance, although PN voters are more convinced than PL voters of the negative impact of the coronavi- rus. CONTINUES PAGE 10 70 80 90 100 30.5% 26.9% 38.8% 36.6% country prepared for the 70 80 90 100 31.1% 13.7% 30.0% 32.3% 25.5% 24.0% 35.8% 34.1% 28.1% 18.4% 29.7% 22.1% 33.2% 30.9% 25.9% do you think you are? Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary Gozo Northern N Harbour S Eastern S Harbour Western 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 15.4% 50.5% 34.1% 10.9% 61.0% 28.1% 27.5% 54.1% 18.4% 9.2% 61.2% 29.7% 14.0% 63.9% 22.1% 18.5% 48.3% 33.2% 14.2% 43.8% 42.0% 17.1% 52.0% 30.9% 20.3% 53.8% 25.9% From 1-10, how informed about the coronavirus do you think you are? Overall PL 2017 PN 2017 M F 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Primary Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary Gozo Northern N Harbour S Eastern S Harbour Western 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 38.2% 59.3% 37.9% 60.4% 32.8% 66.1% 40.7% 55.2% 35.6% 63.3% 46.5% 51.5% 48.6% 48.4% 28.9% 67.9% 24.5% 73.5% 22.4% 76.2% 41.9% 54.3% 39.4% 60.0% 39.2% 58.3% 34.0% 61.8% 36.0% 61.2% 35.7% 62.9% 51.9% 45.2% 42.3% 54.9% 27.2% 69.8% L (1-3) M (4-7) H (8-10) From 1-10, how much do you think the coronavirus will impact the Maltese economy? Overall PL 2017 PN 2017 M F 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Primary Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary 16.7% 82.1% 15.1% 83.3% 7.8% 91.1% 16.1% 83.0% 17.3% 81.3% 17.8% 81.2% 8.5% 91.5% 17.8% 80.3% 23.4% 74.8% 18.9% 80.4% 14.5% 84.6% 9.7% 89.1% 25.2% 73.0% L (1-3) M (4-7) H (8-10) Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary Gozo Northern N Harbour S Eastern S Harbour Western 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 41.9% 54.3% 39.4% 60.0% 39.2% 58.3% 34.0% 61.8% 36.0% 61.2% 35.7% 62.9% 51.9% 45.2% 42.3% 54.9% 27.2% 69.8% From 1-10, how much do you think the coronavirus will impact the Maltese economy? Overall PL 2017 PN 2017 M F 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Primary Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary Gozo Northern N Harbour S Eastern S Harbour Western 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 16.7% 82.1% 15.1% 83.3% 7.8% 91.1% 16.1% 83.0% 17.3% 81.3% 17.8% 81.2% 8.5% 91.5% 17.8% 80.3% 23.4% 74.8% 18.9% 80.4% 14.5% 84.6% 9.7% 89.1% 25.2% 73.0% 25.3% 73.0% 20.5% 78.7% 18.1% 80.6% 6.0% 92.5% 12.0% 86.9% 23.2% 76.2% L (1-3) M (4-7) H (8-10) Has the coronavirus affected your travel plans this year? Overall PL 2017 PN 2017 M F 18-35 36-50 51-65 65+ Primary Secondary Post-Sec Tertiary Gozo 26.1% 33.1% 37.7% 24.6% 33.5% 38.0% 9.9% 47.4% 40.6% 24.0% 33.1% 40.6% 28.2% 33.2% 34.8% 23.2% 37.8% 38.1% 25.6% 40.2% 30.0% 15.8% 35.8% 43.8% 45.0% 13.5% 38.4% 45.6% 11.4% 37.8% 27.7% 31.0% 38.6% 17.8% 38.0% 39.3% 20.1% 44.2% 34.7% 10.6% 33.4% 47.3% 8.7% Not going abroad Yes No Don't know