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Corona: Nearly half of the population has already gotten tested

10/2021, 08.03.2021

50 weeks BfR Corona Monitor: Interim results shows trends in the perception of the pandemic

According to the current BfR-Corona-Monitor of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), 43 percent of the respondents have already had themselves tested for the virus. The survey, which has been conducted regularly for almost a year now, documents how the population is dealing with the situation, what they are doing to protect themselves and how they are informing themselves about the current events. "For 50 weeks now, our survey has provided insights into the current situation and its development," says BfR-President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel. "Over time, we see that the vast majority of the population is implementing the key protective measures."

Regarding the measures ordered to contain the coronavirus, the current mood is very mixed. For example, 84 percent of the respondents support the cancellation of events, 92 percent think the distance regulations are appropriate, and 91 percent think the same about the mandatory use of masks. For months, these regulations have been quite consistently accepted by the population. Other measures, however, have been losing support over the past few weeks. For example, approval for the closure of shops has dropped to 37 percent - at the beginning of January it was at 61 percent. In the current survey, about half of the respondents approve of the closure of restaurants, and 60 percent approve of the closure of cultural institutions. Similar values were last seen in the surveys at the beginning of December. After that, approval had initially risen.

Proximity to other people is still assumed to be the primary source of infection. Currently, around two-thirds of respondents rate the probability of contracting the disease through proximity to others as high. By comparison, at the beginning of the pandemic about a year ago, this figure was at 81 percent. Overall, it can be seen over time that the transmission of the coronavirus via objects such as door handles or toys is now considered less likely than a year ago. The perception of the possibility of an infection via pets, on the other hand, remains fairly constant. The values vary, with minor outliers, between 6 and 10 percent.

What happens next?

The BfR-Corona-Monitor will continue in March. The survey will continue to be carried out every two weeks and will comprise around 1,000 people at a time.

The BfR has published FAQs on the topic of coronavirus:

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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