A recent study by researchers at Researchco, measured the opinions of British Columbians on their beliefs about COVID-19.
In the sample, 82% of BC residents considered COVID-19 a real threat, while 15% did not, and 3% were undecided.
The sample was done among 800 adults in British Columbia and was statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in the province.
“British Columbia’s pandemic skeptics amount to a tiny minority of the population, but there are some demographic pockets where these views are slightly more common,” said Mario Canseco, President of Research Co.
“The group includes 18% of British Columbians aged 18 to 34, 29% of residents of Northern BC and 26% of residents of Southern BC.”
Skeptics in BC express lower levels of satisfaction with the provincial government (14%), the federal government (13%), television news (10%), radio news (7%) and newspapers (also 7%) on the management of COVID-19.
A third (32%) of pandemic skeptics have unfollowed a person on social media, while 26% have stopped talking to a family member, and 25% have ceased communication with a friend because of a pandemic-related disagreement.
Meanwhile, 16% of BC residents have said that, because of a disagreement related to COVID-19, they have unfollowed a person on social media, while 13% ceased communication with a friend, and 8% have stopped talking to a family member.
More than half of the province’s residents have been content with the work of television news, radio news, newspapers, and non-governmental associations during the pandemic.
As of this publication, there have been 84,569 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in BC, with 1,391 succumbing to the virus.
