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A survey has found that most South Africans agreed with bans on large social gatherings, mandatory mask wearing, night-time curfews, work and inter-provincial travel bans in order to curb the spread of Covid-19.
That said, the survey – by market research company Consulta – found that most South Africans believe that the closure of restaurants and the alcohol and cigarette bans had little to no effect.
Consulta has been keeping track of what South Africans think, feel and worry about the most, as yet another year dominated by the pandemic comes to an end. The survey, which sampled just under 1 000 respondents, is the second one done by Consulta, following its first in 2020.
The 2021 survey has found that 52,3 percent of South Africans feel that the government has not put in place sufficient measures to stem the spread of Covid-19.
Although most believe that the closure of public places and cigarette and alcohol bans weren’t very effective, 87 percent agreed with bans on large social gatherings, 92 percent backed mandatory mask wearing, 78 percent said night-time curfews work and 64 percent supported inter-provincial travel bans.
With regards to vaccinations, 58 percent said they have received the jab.
Of that number, 81 percent got the Pfizer vaccine, 16 percent went for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and 3 percent weren’t sure which one they got. Some of the respondents (25 percent) said they had not been vaccinated but will do so, while 17 percent don’t want the jab.
Covid-19 impact on work
The pandemic has also impacted how people work, resulting in many working from home, while others lost their jobs.
The survey found that in 2021, the number of people who lost their jobs grew by 5 percent to 17 percent compared to 12 percent in April 2020. But at 33 percent, the number of people working from home fell by 10 percent from 43 percent in April 2020.
“This figure still represents a significant swathe of people — at least a third — who have not returned to the office and continue to work from home. It is clear that the pandemic has reshaped the world of work and that the work-from-home and hybrid work models will be a permanent feature for many people,” said Consulta.
The number of people whose incomes were affected by the pandemic also grew, from 50,7 percent in April 2020, to 53 percent. Most of the respondents (73,4 percent) felt their employers had put enough safety measures in place to protect them from the virus in the workplace. The number is up from 71 percent in 2020. But 22 percent said their employers could do more in terms of providing them with resources to do their jobs adequately and 23 percent said their bosses need to show more compassion for their employees.
The number of those concerned about their job security declined from 12 percent in 2020, to 5 percent. And 5 percent also said they feel trusted to do their work independently.
Financial relief from banks
Cash-strapped South Africans believed that Absa was the most supportive in terms of financial relief, at 64 percent, while Capitec followed closely behind at 63 percent. Following closely behind, 61 percent believed that Nedbank had done enough to provide them with support and 60 percent backed Standard Bank, with FNB coming in lowest at 57 percent.
Consulta explained that the respondents’ gripes with banks were that they weren’t doing enough in terms of payment holidays, repayment problems, bank charges, and lack of communication and support.
“The overall sentiment continues to be one of tackling the changes, adjusting to the new conditions as a new normal and ‘just getting on with it’.
“There is also a marked decrease in interest in news sources about the pandemic from when the pandemic first arrived in SA, suggesting that people no longer care for the information or news in many ways,” said SA-csi Product Lead at Consulta, Marko Fourie.- fin24
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