Older adults least fearful of contracting coronavirus: Survey

Even as older adults are most likely to be at the receiving end of the pandemic, more than half (52 per cent) of the baby boomers are the least fearful of contracting coronavirus, according to a survey.

The older generations of urban India seem to be the least fearful of contracting coronavirus, according to the survey by research firm YouGov survey.

Fear is notably lower among baby boomers, with more than half (52 per cent) saying they are not fearful about getting infected, the survey showed.

These numbers are considerably higher than that of Gen Z and millennials at 37 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively, it said.

Baby boomer is a term used to describe a person who was born between 1946 and 1964, while Gen Z is the generation born between 1995 and 2015.

The data for the survey was collected online by YouGov Omnibus from around 1,054 respondents in India between March 10 and 15.

The survey also found that in general, more than half (53 per cent) of urban Indians are scared about contracting coronavirus, while 38 per cent are not worried.

Among the genders, fear levels are considerably higher among women compared to men (59 per cent against 47 per cent), it said.

When it comes to region, the survey showed that north India was the most panic-stricken, with three in five residents (61 per cent) saying they were very scared or fairly scared about contracting the virus.

On the other hand, the western region seemed to be the least scared with less than half (46 per cent) of the respondents claiming they are either not very scared or not at all scared about contracting it, it said.

Until the last two weeks, new cases were emerging from the northern and southern regions and fewer from the western parts of the country.

However, beginning this week, Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases, which could be the reason for the low level of fears in the western region that might change in the coming weeks.

Majority of people taking some kind of safety precautions to protect themselves, including washing hands more frequently or using sanitiser (69 per cent), 59 per cent of the respondents said they are avoiding crowded places and 53 per cent avoiding physical contact with tourists.

One in five (20 per cent) have stopped sending children to school or child care and one in six (16 per cent) have stopped going to work, it added.