With the so-called 'second wave' of coronavirus beginning to arrive over Argentina, a new study has found that Argentines fear the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic more than being infected with the virus itself.
According to a new survey by the Management & Fit consultancy firm, 55.9 percent of participants said they fear the economic consequences of the pandemic, compared to just 31.3 percent who worry about getting infected with Covid-19.
The study, which quizzed a representative sample of 2,200 people aged between 16 and 75 across the country, explored attitudes to the pandemic, lockdowns and its impact.
Asking individuals how they viewed Argentina's economic outlook compared to a year ago, 67.7 percent said that the country was worse off, 12.9 percent considered it to be the same, 16.9 percent considered it better off and 2.5 percent said they were unsure.
Looking ahead to the next few months, 57.7 percent were pessimistic, while 18.7 percent thought the country would be better off. Around 16 percent thought it will be about the same.
Furthermore, 73.6 percent asserted that they would receive one of the Covid-19 vaccines offered in Argentina, though in a nod to the so-called 'VIP vaccine scandal,' 59 percent said that they did not have confidence that the national government would implement a “fair and equitable” immunisation programme.
To date, the government has taken possession of 6,768,540 vaccine doses against Covid-19. Of those, 5.1 million have already been distributed throughout the country and more than four million have already been given, according to the government.
With regards to the sanitary policies, the consultancy firm asked citizens how they felt about the possibility of returning to a strict quarantine due to the rise of infections. In response, 39.3 percent said they were “very willing” to return to a strict lockdown, 19.9 percent said “somewhat willing,” 14.1 percent said they were “not very willing” and 22 percent said they were “unwilling,” with 4.6 percent were unsure.
To date, Argentina has recorded a total of 56.199 fatalities since the start of the pandemic, with more than 2.3 million confirmed cases.
Responding to investigators' prompts about their main concerns. 30.6 per cent said corruption, 22.4 percent felt inflation was the largest worry, along with a potential rise in utility pricing, 14.7 percent said insecurity and 11.3 percent said poverty.
Other themes that emerged as strong concerns were unemployment, education, narco-trafficking and public health.
Comments