Majority of public thought Covid-19 pandemic would be over by now

Just one in 10 people predicted that the coronavirus pandemic would last more than a year at start of lockdown, Government data has shown.

More than 50 per cent of people thought life would be back to normal within six months when the UK first went into lockdown.

However, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that, by late August, more than a third of those surveyed said the pandemic would last more than a year.

The ONS published data six months on from the start of lockdown as it presented its first "Diary of a Nation" report, which details how Britons have coped with the virus crisis month by month.

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced the nationwide lockdown on March 23, with people told to stay at home, social events cancelled and all non-essential shops closed.

On April 1, 52 per cent of people surveyed said they thought life would be back to normal in less than six months, compared to nearly 11 per cent who said that would take more than a year, the ONS said.

However, by August 28 the proportion who felt it would be less than six months had fallen to 14 per cent, while 37 per cent said it would be more than 12 months (as shown in the graph below).

Levels of anxiety and happiness saw the greatest change when lockdown was introduced compared with pre-pandemic levels, researchers added.

For the first time, the ONS also detailed people's personal responses to the pandemic. In April, one respondent said: "Am unable to do any of the things which normally fill my life and keep loneliness at bay, i.e. visiting friends, shopping, visiting places of interest, seeing children."

As lockdown measures eased over the summer and social activity picked up, loneliness also increased, the ONS said. A fifth of adults reported feeling lonely in mid-June, it said, suggesting their feelings may have intensified because many others were going out and socialising again.

Others were fearful about leaving their homes, with one respondent saying they wore a face mask while putting their bins out.

One respondent in June said: "I still don't feel safe when I go outside – not everyone keeps their distance," while another added: "I felt nervous when going into an enclosed space such as the garden centre. I have lost a bit of self-confidence about being near other people in case they don't respect social distancing."

The data, published on Wednesday, comes from the weekly Opinions and Lifestyle Survey.