Manitobans comfortable with avoiding crowds: poll

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This article was published 19/05/2020 (2112 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The term “new normal” seems to have sunk in for many Manitobans. According to a recent survey, many won’t feel comfortable getting back into old activities any time soon.

The poll, put together by research company Prairie Research Associates Inc., was conducted May 11-14, asking 1,640 Manitobans if they would be comfortable gathering if a COVID-19 vaccine was not available.

Despite public health guidelines allowing gatherings of up to 10 people, only 34 per cent of Manitobans responded they feel comfortable going into someone’s house — even with other safety measures in place — to visit family members or friends.

This number increases significantly as time goes on — 58 per cent said they would feel comfortable by June, and 77 per cent by the end of the summer — but interest in attending other activities remains low into the next year.

PRA partner Nicholas Borodenko said he found it particularly interesting that, even as the province begins to reopen, Manitobans seem ready to leave behind large gatherings for now.

Just three per cent of those polled said they would attend a small public event; 22 per cent said it will take until the end of summer for them to feel comfortable attending a 50-person gathering; and 43 per cent said they would attend similar events into the fall.

“The thing that surprised me the most I think, was how unlikely people are to attend the large-scale events in the near future,” he said. “Internally, or discussions I’ve had with friends and family, it feels like there’s sort of an itch to bring back sports or movies or concerts or something, but the survey really seems to indicate that’s not the case.”

The size of a proposed event has a significant correlation with people’s comfort in attending, according to the data collected. Even in spring and summer of 2021, only 38 per cent of those polled said they would be ready to attend an event with around 10,000 in attendance. Even smaller group events, such as theatres and weddings, see low numbers into next year, with only 55 per cent saying they’d be comfortable in a setting with around 300 people by spring 2021.

“It seems like there’s a very large correlation between the number of people at events and the likelihood of wanting to attend them, at least a negative correlation,” Borodenko said.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_