The final coronavirus pandemic measures were phased out in the UK in the spring of 2022, while the World Health Organization declared that the disease no longer constituted a global health emergency in May 2023.
Yet, several years on, three in ten Britons (30%) say they consider the pandemic to be still ongoing in Britain, compared to 56% who think it is over.
When we last asked this question in March 2024, the public had been split, with 45% saying it was over but 44% still ongoing.
Age is a key factor; while 22-23% of the under-50s consider the pandemic to still be taking place, this rises to 36% of those aged 50-64 and 43% of the over-65s.
Indeed, among the over-65s this means as many think the pandemic is still ongoing as think it is over (41%).
But what do Britons make of the handling of the coronavirus pandemic? To find out, we used our new YouGov AI Interviewer tool to ask respondents: “Looking back, what do you think should have been done differently during the pandemic in the period from 2020-2022?”
The AI agent then conducted interviews with each respondent, following up on their responses, in order to provide ‘the why’ behind what Britons think. Our qualitative analysis of attitudes, including quotes, can be found below, along with examples of respondent interviews in their entirety.
The government should have acted sooner
Many said the government moved too slowly in early 2020 and should have locked down, closed the borders and stopped large events earlier, pointing to countries that acted faster. Some added that restrictions were eased too quickly, with Eat Out to Help Out singled out.
- “If people where isolating sooner then there would have been less venerable people infected with Covid therefore saving lives” – Man, 18-24
- “Locked down much earlier probably at the same time as the rest of Europe as it was clearly spreading fast and causing a lot of death” – Woman, 25-34
- “I think as an island, we should have closed the borders as soon as the pandemic was announced and put people coming into the country into quarantine the way new Zealand did” – Man, 45-54
- “We should have locked down sooner and not reopened as quickly. Also, "eat out to help out" was a disaster.” – Man, 55+
Lockdowns went too far
Some felt the restrictions themselves were the mistake, saying lockdowns were unnecessary or went on too long and that the vulnerable should have been shielded while everyone else carried on. Some pointed to the lasting damage from closing schools and from isolation.
- “The average child is fit and healthy and their immune system is perfectly capable of handling such viruses. A lot of children have suffered Academically, socially etc from being locked inside for the most valuable time in their lives” – Woman, 18-24
- “People should not have been locked down and businesses should not have closed. We should have shielded the vulnerable and elderly and let everyone else who wanted to go about their lives” – Woman, 55+
- “Hindsight is easy, I think the extent of the lockdowns was excessive and closing schools was a disaster. Government should have told the truth, that they did not really know what to do and some of the campaigns were cynical and divisive” – Man, 55+
- “Less lockdown. Other countries did not lock down to the same extent and did not experience markedly more cases. Eg. Scandinavia. The lockdown and isolation was extremely damaging to many.” – Woman, 35-44
Public money was wasted or handed to friends
Some focused on how money was spent, from PPE contracts awarded through the VIP lane to firms with political connections, to furlough payments and business support they felt were handed out without proper checks.
- “Maybe the tories should not have given all the contracts to their dodgy mates” – Woman, 18-24
- “I dont think so much of the tax payers money should of just been given away to self emploed people and business. I know a lot of self employed people who, were still working and getting the government help. Also I worked front line in a hospital and a lot of the ppe equipment wasnt fit for purpose. ie gloves and aprons so thin they just ripped when you used them. Meaning so much was wasted. The government should of told the public not to mix while they still were.” – Woman, 55+
- “Not provide furlough and large payouts without properly assessing the recipients, forbidding those eho were paid be furloughed to take on second jobs. Not to give contracts to cronies” – Man, 45-54
- “Not given billions to friends via the VIP lane. Much wasted on useless protective clothing produced by brand new firms while those already producing such equipment ignored” – Woman, 55+
The country should have been better prepared to protect the NHS and care homes
Some said Britain went into the pandemic without the plans, stockpiles and protective equipment it needed, leaving health and care staff exposed. Some also pointed to the discharge of infected hospital patients into care homes as a particular failure.
- “There were shortages leaving staff exposed and at risk. PPE that was effective and in date was crucial for protecting staff.” – Woman, 18-24
- “We should have been better prepared with supplies. We should have had a full emergency plan in place and followed the plan. T felt as if we were making it up as we went along. We should have locked down earlier.” – Woman, 55+
- “I have spoken with Care Home owners. Elderly people with covid were sent from hospitals to care homes. This action caused Covid to rip through care home killing the vunerable.” – Man, 55+
- “I was working in a GP surgery at the time and the availability of PPE was a bit patchy and too many dodgy sellers appeared. A lot of people were ill educated about how serious the situation was” – Woman, 55+
Politicians should have followed their own rules
Some singled out the parties held in Downing Street while the public was locked down. They said ministers should have been held to the same standards as everyone else, and that the rule-breaking cost the government respect and made people less willing to comply.
- “People lost respect for them and were probably pretty angry. Here we were isolating ourselves form family and friends to stop the spread of Covid and they were all having a party. It felt disrespectful to the public” – Woman, 18-24
- “I think the government should have set a better example and not had parties while the rest of us were isolating and following the rules” – Woman, 55+
- “I think that politicians should have been held to the same standards as the public. Many people lost loved ones and I don't think that politicians have been held to that.” – Woman, 25-34
- “Person lonely at home. Person sees news about politician ignoring social distancing rules. Person gets mad and wants to do that as well. Person then breaks social distancing rules” – Woman, 18-24
Communication should have been clearer and more honest
Some wanted clearer, more consistent and more honest messages from the government, saying the rules changed too often and at short notice, and that the public was not told how long the pandemic might last or how serious it was.
- “Less messaging that suggested younger people weren’t at all vulnerable” – Woman, 18-24
- “There were government failures around notifying people to stop working and instances of terrible communications (like when Christmas was ok, and then not ok, and then ok but with specific groups)” – Woman, 35-44
- “A clearer plan from the government about timelines. Honesty from the government.” – Woman, 25-34
- “The rules kept changing, it all felt very out of control, i think stricter rules should have been maintained for longer. More consistency would have helped.” – Man, 55+
Little could have been done differently
Some felt nothing should have been done differently, saying the situation was unprecedented, nobody knew what was coming and those in charge did the best they could with what was known at the time.
- “I think the lockdown and furlough scheme was implemented as well as they good have been” – Man, 18-24
- “Nothing could have been done differently. No one knew what was coming , or how bad it would or wouldn't get. Hindsight is 20/20vision, so people are well-placed to criticise now, but at the time, no one had a clue what to do.” – Woman, 55+
- “Impossible to say, the pandemic was/is unprecedented in our lifetimes. I believe the best was achieved under considerable duress.” – Woman, 55+
- “Honestly I don't think anything could have been done any differently. It was new to us all and Boris Johnson did the best he could under difficult circumstances.” – Woman, 35-44
Other themes
Some raised concerns about the vaccines, either about their safety or about the pressure placed on people to take them. Others said it was wrong to keep people from relatives who were dying or in care homes, or to limit funerals. Some called for more support for the people hit hardest by isolation, such as the vulnerable, the self-employed and young people, while others said the government should have listened more closely to scientists and experts.
- “People shouldn't have been pressured to take the injection.” – Woman, 25-34
- “Terminally ill patients should not have been kept isolated from loved ones, if properly protected with masks etc.” – Woman, 55+
- “There should have been more support for vulnerable people. Three of us didn’t leave home for over 100 days” – Woman, 55+
- “Better mental health support for young people and more support for young people to feel connected to each other” – Woman, 18-24
- “The government should have listened to the experts from the start. There were many qualified people giving advice which went ignored.” – Man, 45-54
