We’re stressed and isolated

THE coronavirus financial hit on Victorian households and the changes to our lives have been laid bare in an exclusive NewsCorp survey.

Victorians feel the most isolated and stressed in the country but say more time with family and less time commuting has been a bonus.

And as the second wave bites hard, a third of us want stricter lockdowns.

The YouGov survey shows 35 per cent of Victorians surveyed regard the state’s restrictions as too lenient, but one in 10 branded them “too tough”.

YouGov head of polling Dr Campbell White said Victoria’s soaring number of COVID-19 cases was likely behind so many people wanting restrictions to go further.

Younger generations were more likely to say restrictions were too tough but most still supported them, while country people were more supportive of a stronger clampdown than those in the city.

“Victoria is going through it tougher than any other state at the moment,’’ Dr White said.

“There certainly doesn’t seem to be much of an appetite for relaxing restrictions like the United States, where people are rebelling.”

Nationwide more than 2300 adults — 500 from Victoria — took part in the survey.

A troubling 37 per cent of Victorians households were worse off financially because of COVI-19, more than any state.

One in 10 of those affected were at least $1000 out of pocket each month.

A fifth believed it would take at least a year for their household finances to recover and some believed their incomes would never fully return.

Just over a third of Victorians blamed irresponsible people not social distancing for the pandemic while a fifth pointed the finger at China for not being open about coronavirus until it spread.

Almost half said both were equally to blame while about two in five admitted breaking social-distancing rules themselves in the past three months by shaking someone’s hand.

The analysis uncovered a massive shift at work with 15 per cent of Victorians saying they’d lost their job and 28 per cent working fewer hours.

Those in part-time jobs, who tended to be younger, were hardest hit.

Statewide, half of people surveyed felt stressed and almost as many isolated.

About two in five felt helpless and fearful.

Separation from friends and relations had been the worst thing about the lockdown across the board but more stress at home had been much higher for parents.

Dr White said Gen Z, typically aged 18-24, and the Silent Generation, born before and during World War II, tended to feel the most isolated.