Are Canadians ready for the lifting of epidemiological restrictions?
Results of a poll from the Angus Reid Institute.
Two years into the pandemic, not everyone wants to believe that COVID-19 is no longer a threat. 36% of Canadians think the lifting of restrictions is going too fast, 38% think it's going at the right pace, and 22% think it's going too slowly.
Although the restrictions are about to be lifted across Canada, many are going to observe the mask regime of their own free will, as people continue to get sick with coronavirus. Two-thirds of Canadians, 64%, will continue to disinfect their hands in addition to washing them, three in five will maintain the practice of social distancing, and half of those surveyed are going to avoid large crowds (53%) and wear a mask in public places (50%). 73% of Canadians said they would support keeping the requirement to wear masks in public places. 64% approve of requiring vaccination documents in places such as restaurants and theaters.
One cannot argue that Canadians are comfortable with the restrictions. More than half of Canadians, 56%, said they have had a conflict with someone in a close circle of friends or family about vaccinations since the pandemic began. 45% experienced embarrassing moments when they declined invitations to events because of restrictions. 38% admitted to having a conflict with someone over the issue of needing masks. And 25% had conflicted over violating other epidemiological restrictions. Coronavirus, according to the results of the pandemic's impact on worldview survey, has divided Canadians a lot.
Opinions were almost evenly split on whether officials did a good job protecting people from COVID-19: 48% say Justin Trudeau did the right thing, 48% say he failed to deal with the pandemic. The rest of those surveyed had difficulty answering. 56% praise Canada's chief medical officer of health, Theresa Tam.
Only the inhabitants of the Atlantic provinces and British Columbia, where mortality and infection rates remained fairly low, were happy with the actions of the provincial premiers. Provincial Chief Medical Officers were also less well liked, although Canadians generally thought they were doing an acceptable job.
