A majority of the public believe Boris Johnson’s government acted too late in imposing stringent restrictions on British public life to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, a new poll has found.
It comes as the latest figures from the Department of Health and Social Care showed 2,921 people have died after contracting the virus in the UK while over 33,000 have tested positive.
In an address to the nation just ten days ago, when the death toll from covid-19 stood at 355, the prime minister said people should only leave their homes to buy groceries, to exercise once a day or to travel to work if absolutely necessary.
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On 20 March, Mr Johnson had ordered pubs, bars, restaurants, theatres, cafes and leisure centres to close across the country as the number of people contracting covid-19 was accelerating.
However, in a new survey published on Thursday by pollsters Ipsos MORI, 56 per cent said the social distancing measures were imposed too late while just four per cent believed they were brought in too soon. A further 35 per cent of respondents said they thought the measures were taken at the right time.
Among those who voted Conservative at the 2019 December election, 44 per cent said the prime minister’s actions were too late while 50 per cent said they came at the right time.
Despite a majority of those polled saying they thought the measures were enacted too late, the poll also suggested the steps taken by the government have been effective.
As many as 79 per cent of those who responded said they are now avoiding leaving their homes – a significant increase on the 50 of per cent who said they were doing so before the lockdown was enforced.
“It is very encouraging to see that four in five people are now avoiding leaving their home following the government’s enforcement of this last week,” said the managing director of public affairs at the pollster Kelly Beaver.
She added: “While the majority of people feel it came too late, the impact it has had on people’s behaviour is critical at a time when we all need to be doing our part.”
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A separate poll published by YouGov also suggested that for the first time in almost a decade, the government has positive approval ratings among the public.
Following the December election, the pollster recorded Mr Johnson’s government having positive approval ratings from one in three in Britons, compared to 46 per cent who disapproved.
But amid the coronavirus crisis, 52 per cent said they now approve of the current administration’s record while just 26 per cent disapproved. The pollster said the net approval figure of +26 net was the highest YouGov have recorded since first asking the question of British governments in 2003.
Ipsos MORI interviewed a representative sample of 1,072 British adults aged 18-47 between 27-30 March 2020.
