When will life return to normal?

Most people now believe Covid-19 will be around for more than a year

HOPES are fading of an end to the coronavirus pandemic within the next year. The results of an Office for National Statistics survey show more people are coming around to the idea that Covid-19 will be part of daily life for many months to come.

Of more than 1,700 people asked between September 16 and September 20, four out of 10 (41 per cent) said they now believe it will be more than a year before their own life can return to normal.

A month ago, when a similar number of people were asked the same question, only 29 per cent believed Covid-19 would be a threat for that long.

Levels of pessimism jumped to 37 per cent by late August, then saw a slight increase, to 38 per cent at the start of September.

Hopes appear to have been dashed following a recent spike in infection rates, the increasing number of deaths, and the announcement of the new ‘rule of six’

That came into effect on September 14, and outlaws social gatherings of more than six people (with some exceptions for young children in parts of the country). Individuals caught by police can be fined £200.

Current restrictions - which now include restrictions on the operation hours of pubs and bars - are likely to be in force for at least the next six months.

The coronavirus alert level has also been upgraded from three to four, meaning transmission is ‘high or rising exponentially’.

That came after Sir Patrick Valance, the Government’s chief scientific advisor, warned that without further action the UK could see 50,000 new cases a day by mid-october, and about 200plus deaths per day a month after that.

The grim warnings appear to have had an impact on the public mood.

In mid-august, four per cent of people believed the pandemic would be over within three months, well before the start of Christmas festivities.

But now only two per cent are optimistic for a speedy end to the crisis.

The number of people who believe life will be back to normal within four to six months has fallen from 10 per cent to eight per cent; hopes for an end within nine months have dipped from eight per cent to six per cent; and now only 13 per cent believe Britain will be coronavirus-free within 10 to 12 months.

The representative sample also shows that seven per cent of the population believe we will have to learn to live with Covid-19, as the virus is here to stay.

The weekly Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (Covid-19 module), also showed that half of people (51 per cent) expect their finances to remain the same in the foreseeable future.

Of those who do expect their fortunes to change in the next 12 months, 23 per cent expect their money worries to get a little worse, and 16 per cent think it will get a little better.

Seven per cent believe their finances will get a lot worse, while just two per cent expect their cash flow to get a lot better.