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Hard lockdown, lockdown light, Swedish way: The countries of Europe fought Corona with very different strategies.

Regardless of the approach taken, a majority of citizens in every major country on the continent believe that too little has been done.

52 percent of those surveyed would have liked to have cracked down, as a YouGov survey on behalf of WELT AM SONNTAG and the Leading European Newspaper Alliance (LENA) shows.

For the representative survey, around 10,600 people in nine European countries were interviewed between December 2nd and 9th.

Source: WORLD infographic

23 percent said it was done accurately enough.

Only 14 percent say their government went too far.

In Germany, too, only 17 percent of people think the restrictions are excessive.

In Sweden, where there was no real lockdown in either wave, 57 percent of respondents say that there should have been stricter measures.

In Spain, where the pandemic was dealt with with some very drastic lockdowns, 61 percent of people still say that that was not enough.

“No matter what the strategy of a country was, people in all European countries are now in a second wave of the pandemic,” says Peter Mannott, study director at YouGov.

"They see their governments critically because they were unable to prevent this second wave with their measures."

Apparently, most people currently worry more about their health than about their freedom of movement.

According to the survey, people's greatest fears are that they will contract Covid-19 themselves or that they will lose a relative or friend to the disease.

The fear of financial losses ranks behind.

Far fewer people worry about this if lockdowns and travel restrictions persist any longer.

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The more violently the Corona crisis hit the country, the more people's lives have changed there.

A large proportion of respondents in all countries state that they have been meeting fewer friends, doing less shopping, going on vacation less or going to the cinema less since Corona.

But while in Germany only 39 percent of those surveyed shop less, in Spain it is 78 percent and in Belgium 81 percent.

"Corona had the greatest impact on people's private life and leisure behavior in those countries where the restrictions on public life were particularly great," said YouGov expert Mannott.

"This is due to the restrictions of the hard lockdowns, but also to the fact that the people there have voluntarily changed their social behavior particularly strongly over the long term."

Source: WORLD infographic

But in Sweden, too, this value is significantly higher at 70 percent.

This is also a sign that many people there voluntarily avoid non-essential social contacts, as the government had requested.

In the countries traumatized by the first wave of the Corona crisis, a particularly large number of people want to exercise caution at Christmas and only celebrate the festival in a small circle.

In Spain, 77 percent of those surveyed have made this, in Italy it is 85 percent.

In Germany this value is relatively low at 55 percent.

But even in France, where the Corona measures were tougher, only 42 percent want to spend the holidays with their closest family.

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In the countries where the lockdowns were draconian, significantly more people seem to be personally financially affected.

In Spain and Poland, more than 40 percent of the respondents said that they had to accept a drop in their income because of the crisis, in Italy it was 39 percent.

In Germany only 27 percent say that, in Sweden it is 19 percent.

At 53 percent, however, the majority of respondents in Europe still did not suffer any financial losses.

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24 percent state that they are on short-time work, 14 percent were therefore temporarily unemployed.

In Germany it is only ten percent of people, in Spain it is 29 percent - far more than in any other country according to the survey have lost their jobs.

Around 40 percent of those questioned fear an economic crisis in their country or a global recession in the future.

"Fear of the economic crisis often precedes actual loss of income," said YouGov study director Mannott.

"People are still receiving government aid, but are already worried about the time when the support will expire."

Source: WORLD infographic

Almost 40 percent of those surveyed stated that they work more from home.

At 46 percent, this value is highest in Sweden, where there has not yet been a real lockdown.

However, the Swedish government urged people to act responsibly, including working from home.

Obviously, a great many Swedes did so.

In Germany, only 30 percent of respondents say that they currently work more from home.

However, most of those affected do not see home office as a benefit.

In all countries, only a minority say that working from home has made a positive difference to their work.

In almost all countries, a majority also stated that their work became “more impersonal” during the crisis because they had to wear masks, disinfect their hands or work in divided teams.

Only in Sweden is this value significantly lower at 30 percent.

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Closed schools and daycare centers and working from home have hit a lot of families in Europe hard.

41 percent of respondents in the nine countries examined said that their families were extremely emotionally stressed by the Corona crisis.

In Germany and Sweden this value is around a third lower, in Spain, Italy and Poland it is more than half.

In these countries the lockdowns were particularly drastic or lasted for a very long time.

“In Poland, Spain and Italy, multigenerational families are even more widespread,” says study director Mannott.

"That is why Covid deaths or the social distance from lockdowns are likely to lead to emotional stress particularly often."

Source: WORLD infographic

Many parents in Europe are also concerned about the consequences of daycare and school closings for their children.

Around half of the respondents indicated that the Corona crisis had negative consequences for their children's learning success.

In Germany, too, this value is average at 47 percent.

In Sweden, where schools and daycare centers were not closed, this value is significantly lower at 28 percent.

45 percent of people are also concerned that the crisis will have a negative impact on children's social behavior.

This value is similar in all countries, including Sweden.

"Regardless of school closings, social contacts were seen as the biggest driver of the pandemic in all countries," says YouGov expert Mannott.

"So it is not surprising that parents in all countries are concerned about the social impact of the pandemic on their children."

On the other hand, 45 percent of those surveyed said that the Corona crisis allowed them to spend more time with their family.

In Italy, where schools were closed for a very long time, 65 percent say that, while the figure in Germany is below 37 percent.

The value is lowest in Sweden, where daycare centers and schools remained open throughout the year.

Here only 31 percent said they could have spent more time with the family.

For the representative survey, Yougov interviewed around 10,600 people in Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland, Italy, France, Sweden and Great Britain between December 2nd and 9th.

The survey was commissioned by WELT AM SONNTAG as part of the Leading European Newspaper Alliance (LENA), a partnership between leading media from seven European countries.

This text is from WELT AM SONNTAG.

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Source: Welt am Sonntag