Nearly two million Canadians feel they either have or had COVID-19
EDMONTON — As many as six per cent of Canadian adults — perhaps 1.8 million people — thought they had COVID-19 or think they currently have it, but haven’t been tested for it, says new polling from the Association for Canadian Studies-Leger Marketing.
And despite repeated urgings from politicians and public health officials that same cohort of Canadians aren’t actually behaving all that differently than those who believe they’ve never had the virus.
There has been a concerted effort in many jurisdictions to get as many people as possible tested daily, and recommendations for people to wear masks and take other precautions while in public.
But still, it appears that many people do not get tested, even when they think they are sick with the virus.
So far, more than 85,000 Canadians have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. The survey, done by Canadian Studies-Leger Marketing, suggests six per cent of Canadians 18 and older didn’t get tested, with the percentage highest — nine per cent — among those aged 35 to 54.
Extrapolating for the population, if six per cent of 30 million adult Canadians believed they had COVID-19, but didn’t get tested, that works out to approximately 1.8 million people who have been essentially self-diagnosed, says Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian Studies and chair of the COVID-19 Social Impacts Network. He adds they are operating on the basis that they are no longer at risk of either catching COVID-19 or passing it on to someone else.
“(It’s) a very high-risk proposition,” Jedwab says.
Many Americans believe similarly, with eight per cent — about 20 million Americans — thinking they have or have had the virus, but didn’t get testing (not including those who said they “don’t know” or preferred not to answer). The figure is highest for Americans aged 30 to 39, at 13 per cent.
Among Canadians aged 30-39, fully 25.2 per cent also believe that COVID-19 is basically like the regular flu. Just 15.3 per cent who don’t believe they’ve had COVID-19 feel it’s not like the flu.
British Columbians are the most likely to think they were infected, but didn’t get tested (eight per cent), followed by Ontarians at seven per cent, and Quebecers, Albertans and Atlantic Canadians at six per cent. People in Manitoba and Saskatchewan were the least likely (at two per cent) to think they have or had COVID-19 but did not get tested. What’s most concerning is that those who believe they have had COVID-19 or believe they currently have it are not behaving substantially differently from those who believe they’ve never had it.
“We’re operating on a trust system, to a significant degree,” Jedwab says.
“When you see these numbers, it’s a source of concern, we need to be sure as we’re working our way through this … that the trust system is something that we can rely on.”
The survey says 47.9 per cent of people who believe they have or had COVID-19 but didn’t get tested wear a mask when out in public, and 51 per cent who believe that do not wear a mask. Among those who don’t believe they’ve had the virus, 54.9 per cent do not wear a mask in public and 44.1 per cent do wear one.
“Clearly, these figures should send an important signal to our public health authorities that we need to be sure people have good information,” Jedwab says.