Coronaphobia UK is rife: Two new polls find just one in four Britons would feel safe at work and more than half are opposed to schools reopening

• Poll by Opinium found only 17 per cent thought schools should reopen on May 8  
• Data from YouGov showed one in four adults would feel safe returning to work 
• Third survey found 56 per cent approved of how Government handled the crisis 

Just one in four Britons would feel safe at work amid the coronavirus crisis and more than half are opposed to schools reopening, new polls have found.  

Data published by Opinium found only 17 per cent of Britons believed conditions had been met to considering reopening schools on May 8, with 67 per cent of those polled believing the opposite.  

There was also opposition to the reopening of restaurants and pubs – with only 11 per cent agreeing Britain is at a place to open eateries and 9 per cent supporting a return to pubs.

Britons more strongly opposed a return to Stadium events and nightclubs, with 7 per cent saying conditions have been met for both to resume, compared to 84 per cent who did not.

Pictured: An elderly couple walk past a police patrol car in Greenwich Park, London on May 2

The data, collected between Wednesday and Friday last week, came as a YouGov poll found only one in four adults would feel safe returning to work amid the current state of coronavirus.

The second poll, carried out on behalf of The Sunday Times, also noted 47 per cent of Britons opposed the reopening of schools in the next few weeks, compared to 28 per cent who did not.

A third survey, undertaken by Redfield and Wilton Strategies and published by the Express, found 56 per cent of those polled approved of how the Government had handled the crisis.

An earlier poll of 1,500 people by the researchers also found 54 per cent of Britons would not feel comfortable returning to work, with only 13 per cent agreeing they would feel safe travelling to London on May 7.  

A majority 88 per cent of Britons added they would not feel safe attending a sporting event, compared to 12 per cent who would. 

Psychologist Professor Dame Til Wykes of King’s College London told the Guardian that ‘it is likely that most people will feel anxious’ as lockdown restrictions are lifted.

Pictured: A man wearing a face mask walks past rainbow graffiti in support of the NHS in Soho, central London

A survey published by Opinium found only 17 per cent of Britons believed conditions had been met to considering re-opening schools on May 8, with 67 per cent of those polled believing the opposite

She said: ‘We have been given strict behavioural advice for more than five weeks, and when that is removed people will feel pressured, and individuals who had pre-existing anxiety, particularly about their health, will be worst hit. It will take quite a lot of psychological treatment to get over this.

‘Different groups will be more affected than others, in particular the elderly and also parents, who will worry about their children bringing home the virus from schools.’

Boris Johnson said on Friday that Britain is ‘past the peak’ of coronavirus – which has killed 28,131 in the UK amid 183,500 confirmed cases.

Heading his first Downing Street briefing since falling ill, the Prime Minister said the UK is now on the ‘downward slope’ and praised Britons for having avoided an ‘uncontrollable and catastrophic’ epidemic.

But Mr Johnson dashed hopes of an imminent loosening, after making clear that a new flare-up of the deadly disease would be worse than the current crippling impact on the economy.

Boris Johnson said on Friday that Britain is ‘past the peak’ of coronavirus – which has killed 28,131 in the UK amid 183,500 confirmed cases

Britain’s death toll (28,131) is bound to overtake Italy’s (28,236) by next week and make the UK the second worst-hit country in the world, behind only the US (65,173). The outbreak in the UK is two weeks behind Italy’s, meaning its daily death and infection jumps are decreasing at a slower rate

He claimed that efforts to bolster the NHS had avoided a ‘reasonable worst-case scenario’ of 500,000 deaths if no action to combat the pandemic had been taken, likening it to digging a tunnel under an alpine mountain.

But in the strongest hint yet that restrictions will run into June and beyond, he added: ‘It is vital that we do not now lose control and run slap into a second and even bigger mountain.’

The premier said a ‘huge amount of work’ was going into an ‘exit strategy’ with the first draft to be published next week. While it will offer a ‘road map, a menu of options’ for how the curbs could be eased in future, he cautioned that it would not give any timings as they would depend on the science.

He gave a strong hint that it will involve advising people to wear face coverings in some circumstances, saying they ‘will be useful’ as the situation evolves.

The Department of Health stopped giving a breakdown of how many COVID-19 deaths occurred in different settings, such as hospitals or care homes, yesterday

Mr Johnson also said he was ‘not going to pretend’ the government had not made any mistakes in the handling of the crisis, pointing to PPE supplies. He admitted they were learning lessons every day. 

The Opinium poll found only 47 per cent of people approved of how the Government had responded to the coronavirus crisis.

Three in five Britons also disapproved of how the Government had handled access to PPE for NHS staff and essential workers, with only 16 per cent praising their response.

An overwhelming 79 per cent of Britons said they have been following strict lockdown rules since they were introduced by Mr Johnson on March 23.

However, 23 per cent admitted to heading to the shops for non-essentials and 21 per cent said they have left the house more than once per day for exercise. 

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