THE LATEST PHASE of a nationwide survey will ask the public how well they feel they are coping as Covid-19 restrictions ease.

It will also ask people about how well they feel the government is balancing the lifting of restrictions with that of economic and social wellbeing, and if a second wave of Covid-19 were to occur, would they adhere to a second lockdown and associated restrictions.

The Corona Citizens’ Science Study is conducted by research teams at NUI Galway, Dublin City University and the Insight SFI Centre for Data Analytics (at NUI Galway) and is examining the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions such as social distancing.

Phase four of the survey commences tomorrow, 17 June, at 6am at and will remain open for 24 hours. It’s the fourth instalment of the nationwide survey and includes a large number of questions that have been submitted by the public.

Respondents will be asked to comment on various aspects of their lives during lockdown, such as their exercise habits, sex life and weight gain or loss while restrictions were in place.

Others questions will ask if people would wear face coverings if it meant reducing social distancing from two metres to one metre, and whether or not you would like to continue working from home in the future.

‘A lot has changed’

Dr Akke Vellinga, an epidemiologist at the School of Medicine at NUI Galway who is part of the research team, noted that “a lot has changed” in the six weeks since the last survey.

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“It is not only important to keep a record of the mood of the Irish people, but even more so, to understand how people feel about lockdown and restrictions today,” Vellinga said.

DCU Professor Anthony Staines said the researchers want to “look at the reactions to lockdown, and in particular, how people feel about making a decision, whether to continue with lockdown measures in order to crush the curve, which is a point that is also being advocated for publicly”.

For more information on the survey, click here.