Unpacking the pandemic
Most Saudi and UAE residents believe the COVID-19 crisis will permanently affect their way of life, YouGov polls reveal
Public opinion surveys in Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak have revealed sharp changes in attitudes and a growing optimism that the crisis will be resolved in the next three months.
Nearly two months ago, as coronavirus was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), the online research firm YouGov began tracking attitudes and behaviors surrounding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), using its global research panel of more than 8 million respondents.
When YouGov published its first findings on March 18, 64 percent of Saudi residents said they were scared of catching the virus; the corresponding figure for the UAE was 61 percent.
On May 6, YouGov released the eighth wave of its tracker data, which suggests that the threat perception has only increased: 75 percent of Saudi respondents reported being fearful of contracting the infection while 73 percent of UAE residents felt the same way.
Just 7 percent described themselves as “not at all scared that I will contract COVID-19,” while only 12 of the 2,002 people surveyed reported having already contracted the virus.
Globally, over 4 million people have been infected by COVID-19 and more than 276,000 have died. In Saudi Arabia, the number of confirmed cases now exceeds 35,000, while the UAE has reported 16,793 confirmed cases.
With widespread and persistent fear of the illness continuing to dominate daily life, it is unsurprising that 46 percent of Saudi and UAE residents strongly feel that the pandemic will permanently change the way we live and interact with each other.
Just 8 percent of respondents disagree with the statement “The coronavirus pandemic will permanently change the way we live and interact with each other.”
Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have managed to keep COVID-19 fatality cases to less than 1 percent of the total number of infections — among the lowest ratios in the world, going by available data. According to selfreported figures, just 0.66 percent of those contracting the virus in Saudi Arabia die from the disease where as In the UAE, the figure is 0.93 percent. These figures are lower than the WHO’s latest estimated mortality rate of 3.4 percent (by comparison, seasonal flu globally kills far fewer than 1 percent of those infected).
The low mortality figures for Saudi Arabia and the UAE can perhaps be explained by their high testing rates, young populations and effective social distancing measures.
YouGov data suggests that the practice of social distancing has been widely adopted in both countries.
Indeed, 98 percent of Saudi and UAE respondents said that they have changed their daily behavior and are now taking precautionary measures. These include avoiding crowded places (78 percent), wearing a face mask (71 percent), improved personal hygiene (74 percent) and working from home (47 percent).
In the UAE, where wearing a face mask is mandatory in public, 80 percent of respondents said they are complying with this measure. The corresponding figure for Saudi Arabia is lower, at 63 percent.
By contrast, the percentage of people who said they are working from home in Saudi Arabia is 66 percent are spending more time browsing social media.
Data released by YouGov in early April suggests that an increasing number of people (51 percent) in Saudi Arabia and the UAE are concerned about losing their jobs. Notably, UAE residents are much more worried about this outcome compared with those of Saudi Arabia (64 percent vs 38 percent). Mindful of a challenging time ahead, 58 percent of Saudi respondents said that they have decreased their spending on non-essential items since last year.
The proportion of UAE residents who expressed the same sentiment was higher, 61 percent.
At the same time, the streak of generosity remains as strong as ever, with 39 percent of respondents saying that they have increased their charitable donations since last year.
In the two countries, 35 percent said their charitable giving is the same as last year, with just 20 percent saying this amount has decreased since last year.
The virus impact is being felt positively in other areas as well. Going by the YouGov tracker data, a majority of residents in Saudi Arabia and the UAE feel that the coronavirus crisis will have a positive impact on life as they know it.
Only 10 per cent (most likely to be 18-24-year-olds) said they feel that nothing positive will emerge from the experience.
The vast majority of respondents (61 percent) agree that coronavirus pandemic will have a positive impact on the environment; 55 percent feel that it will lead to