Support for health officials sinks: poll

Support in B.C. for our health leaders is sliding, residents are showing fatigue over COVID-19 restrictions around socializing and travel, and some fear the pandemic will never end, recent survey results show.

The Leger survey, conducted for Postmedia News, presents a sombre set of findings, certainly as compared with the results of an upcoming research review that suggest folks were faring pretty well last year in several mental-health categories. That latter study, under review by The Lancet, a medical journal, showed some facets of mental health and well-being were seeing real resilience, said Lara Aknin, an associate professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University and one of the study's authors.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s public health officer; Adrian Dix; the provincial health minister; Theresa Tam, Canada's public health officer; and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have seen steadily declining levels of support since December, according to the Leger results. Henry slid from 79 per cent support in December to 71 in February, Dix from 72-to62, Tam from 65-to-58 and Trudeau from 61-to-50.

The pollster suggested the broad and consistent slide pointed to pandemic fatigue, a concept supported by other findings as well.

For example, 77 per cent of respondents said they were tired of not seeing friends and family outside of their household, 58 per cent were tired of travel restrictions, and 49 per cent were tired of restrictions around drinking and dining out.

More than half were tired of wearing a mask in public.

British Columbians showed concern about COVID-19 variants, with 87 per cent believing a COVID-19 variant will delay the return-to-normal. About 70 per cent see restrictions lasting into next year and 16 per cent think the pandemic will never end.