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Even before the new corona rules come into force, many have become more cautious

36/2020, 02.11.2020

BfR-Corona-Monitor: Respondents reduce contacts and stay at home more frequently

Starting this week, the new regulations for the containment of the coronavirus adopted by the Federal Government and the Länder will come into force throughout Germany. As the results of the BfR-Corona-Monitor, a regular survey by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), show, the respondents were already more cautious last week than they were two weeks before. The proportion of those, who say that they meet less frequently with family or friends, rose from 65 to 76 percent. Furthermore, 69 percent say, they leave their home less - an increase by 10 percentage points. "With the current increase in the number of infections, people in Germany are becoming more cautious again," comments BfR-President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel on the latest developments.

The majority considered the measures in force until the end of last week to be appropriate. Nevertheless, acceptance particularly for the restrictions in the cultural sector has decreased from 82 percent at the end of September to 71 percent at the end of October. The recently introduced mandated closing time, that is, closing eating and dining venues in the late evening hours, was supported by 59 percent of the respondents. Two thirds considered the associated ban on selling alcohol to be appropriate.

The current survey also shows that some concerns are growing. Now, around a quarter of the respondents are worried about their physical and mental health and a third (35 percent) about their social relationships. About one in five is still concerned about their own economic situation.

For the first time, the BfR-Corona-Monitor also measured how often the respondents use different types of media to inform themselves about the coronavirus. It was found that for this purpose more than half of the respondents watch television (61 percent) and listen to the radio (55 percent) on a daily basis. For the majority, personal contacts are also an important source of information: 89 percent state that they obtain information by talking to others at least once a week. Print media and social media, however, are used less than once a week or never by most people (50 and 66 percent).

The BfR continually adapts its FAQs on the topic of coronavirus to the current state of science:

About the BfR-Corona-Monitor

The BfR-Corona-Monitor is a recurring (multi-wave) representative survey of the German population's perception of risks from the novel coronavirus. Every week between 24 March and 26 May 2020, around 500 randomly selected people were asked by telephone about their assessment of the risk of infection and their protective measures, among other things. Since June 2020, the survey is continued every two weeks with about 1,000 respondents each. A summary of the data is regularly published on the homepage of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. More information about the method and sample can be found in publications about the BfR-Corona-Monitor.

About the BfR

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is a scientifically independent institution within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) in Germany. It advises the German federal government and German federal states ("Laender") on questions of food, chemical and product safety. The BfR conducts its own research on topics that are closely linked to its assessment tasks.

This text version is a translation of the original German text which is the only legally binding version.

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BfR-Corona-MONITOR

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