Lockdown still having 'dramatic' impact

More than a quarter of adults say their lives are still dramatic a l l y d i f fe re nt c o m pa re d with before the pandemic, despite the easing of lockdown.

People say they are still spending an average of two days a week at home, with the poorest and those with mental health problems spending the most time shut up indoors.

Research by University College London (UCL) found 28% of adults reported that their lives are currently "completely different" or have "lots of differences" due to coronavirus.

A third said there are still "quite a few" differences in their day-to-day lives.

Just 4% said nothing had changed for them over the course of 2020.

T h e re s e a rc h i nvo l ve d more than 70,000 participants and was launched just a week before lockdown was introduced on March 23.

At the height of lockdown, 50% of people surveyed said their lives were either "completely" different or had "lots" of differences, while 28% said there were "quite a few" differences.

Dr Daisy Fancourt, associate professor of psychobiolog y and epidemiolog y at UCL, said: "This shows that, whilst many aspects of society are operating again, we're far from a return to 'normal' and the virus is still very much having an impact on people's everyday lives."

Cheryl Lloyd, education programme head at the Nuffield Foundation, said: “People with lower household incomes are not only more likely to have spent time in their homes since March, but are also more likely to report feeling lonelier, less happy and having lower levels of life satisfaction than those on higher incomes."