Lifting of Covid-19 curbs led to ‘dramatic change’ in public behaviour, research finds

The Government’s decision to lift most Covid-19 restrictions at the end of February was followed by a “dramatic change” in people’s behaviour, according to new research.

Rates of mask wearing fell sharply in shops, on public transport and to a lesser extent in workplaces, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) said.

On public transport, mask-wearing fell from a rate of more than 90 per cent to around 60 per cent, it said.

This comes as a further 2,743 cases of Covid-19 were recorded through positive PCR tests as well as 4,990 on positive antigen tests.

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The number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 fell on Tuesday to 1,360, from 1,433 the day before. This included 54 patients in intensive care, down from 59 on Monday.

People reported even steeper declines in how often others wore masks, including staff in shops, compared to how often they wore masks. On public transport, this measure fell from 75 per cent to 25 per cent.

Overall compliance with public health guidance declined at a faster rate than in the period before the Government lifted the mask mandate on February 28th, even though the wearing of masks on public transport and in crowded indoor locations continued to be advised, the research found.

The latest update of the ESRI’s social activity measure covers the period from March 15th to 22nd, eight weeks after the lifting of most public health restrictions and more than a fortnight after the mask requirement was removed.

Above peak levels

Since then, people’s social activity has increased consistently and is now above the peak levels recorded late last summer. International travel is also back to levels seen in autumn 2021 and people had more than 40 per cent more close contacts in March than at any time since the measure started in January 2021.

Researchers says that while a “very substantial and rapid” change in behaviour has coincided with increased Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations, “it is probably important also to consider the likely contribution to infections of the strong and sustained recent increase in close contacts”.

Despite calls from health staff and scientists, the Government has declined to reintroduce a mask mandate. Case numbers now appear to be declining after peaking in late March.

Self-reported wellbeing has also decreased significantly and substantially, to a level not recorded since early 2021, possibly due to the increase in cases.

Support

Despite these changes, most people continue to support the Government’s response to the pandemic, though more than 30 per cent view it as insufficient.

When asked what they should do if they started to experience cold and flu-type symptoms, less than 10 per cent of respondents selected the response that matches current public health advice to self-isolate, the ESRI said. More than 75 per cent said they should take an antigen test and isolate if it returned a positive result.