A new poll says that one in five Canadians are making little to no effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, and they are mainly young people and right-wing voters.
The Angus Reid Institute says that they analyzed public opinion data to group people into three broad categories measuring behaviours and mindsets called the ‘COVID Compliance Index’.
The first group, called “Infection Fighters,” follow virus suppression measures carefully and make up nearly half the population (47 per cent).
About a third of Canadians are “Inconsistent” (36 per cent), meaning they follow handwashing and physical distancing measures but are less strict on staying home or limiting social circles.
The last group are referred to as “Cynical Spreaders” and make up nearly one-in-five Canadians (18 per cent).
The people most likely to fall into this last group were young people between the ages of 18-24, and those who voted for the Conservative Party of Canada, according to the Angus Reid Institute’s analysis.
Cynical Spreaders reject mask usage, socialize in large groups including strangers and disregard most, if not all, COVID-19 safety precautions.
The study measured nine risk-taking behaviours, including:
- Not washing hands regularly
- Not keeping extra personal space from others
- Not wearing a mask indoors with those outside their household
- Shaking hands, hugging, or touching others
- Not avoiding public spaces
- Seeing people outside of close friends and family
- Spending time with 10 or more people outside of their household
- Spending at least half of their time with others indoors
- Not social distancing when in groups of friends
Cynical Spreaders engaged in at least three of these behaviours, with three-quarters engaging in at least five.
34 per cent of those polled between the ages of 18-24 said they followed few, if any, safety precautions, along with 31 per cent of those who said they voted for the Conservatives in the last federal election.
Equal proportions of those who voted Liberal or NDP fell into the Cynical Spreaders group, with 8 per cent each.
The likelihood of flouting COVID-19 safety guidelines fell steadily along with the age of respondents, with only 9 per cent of those over 65 falling into the Cynical Spreaders category.
Education was also a factor in determining who follows COVID-19 precautions.
Only 9 per cent of respondents who had attained a University degree or higher were identified as Cynical Spreaders, while 21 per cent of those with only High School education flouted guidelines.
The online survey was conducted between August 5 and 8 among a representative randomized sample of 1,511 Canadian adults, with a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
