Coronavirus and the social impacts on Great Britain: 10 July 2020

• More than half of adults (52%) who have left their home have worn a face covering to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) – an increase from last week (43%).

• Nearly half (48%) of working adults travelled to work, a similar proportion to last week (49%).

• Over a quarter of adults (26%) had formed a support bubble with another household in England and Scotland, and nearly 9 in 10 (89%) of them had either visited or been visited by that household at least once.

• Of those adults in a "support bubble", 6 in 10 (57%) said the main reason for visiting another household was for relationships and companionship.

• Over 2 in 10 adults (21%) said they would be comfortable or very comfortable to eat indoors at a restaurant compared with 6 in 10 (60%) who said they would be uncomfortable or very uncomfortable.

• A quarter of adults (25%) said they were likely or very likely to go on holiday in the UK this summer, however, just under 1 in 10 adults (9%) said they were likely or very likely to go on holiday abroad this summer.

• Although average anxiety levels during the coronavirus pandemic have been on a downward trend, this week has seen the largest week-on-week increase to a score of 4.0 from 3.6 last week (anxiety is measured on a scale from 0 to 10 where 0 is “not at all anxious” and 10 is “completely anxious”.

This weekly bulletin contains data and indicators from a new module being undertaken through the Office for National Statistics' (ONS's) Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) to understand the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on British society.

The statistics in this publication are based on a survey of 2,500 adults aged 16 years and over in Great Britain conducted between 2 and 5 July 2020 (inclusive). Results this week are based on 1,788 responding adults (72% response rate).

It contains breakdowns of results by sex and for identified "at-risk" groups that have been advised to take additional precautions. This includes those aged 70 years and over and those with certain underlying health conditions. The full list of conditions is included in the Glossary.

This bulletin presents a summary of results, with further data including confidence intervals for the estimates contained in the associated datasets. Where changes in results from previous weeks, or differences between groups are presented in this bulletin, associated confidence intervals should be used to assess the statistical significance of the change. Not all differences commented on in this bulletin are statistically significant.

Throughout this bulletin, "this week" refers to responses collected during the period 2 to 5 July 2020 and "last week" refers to those collected during the period 25 to 28 June 2020.

Of adults in Great Britain, over 9 in 10 (92%) said they had left their home for any reason in the past seven days, a slight increase when compared with last week (91%). A similar proportion of those with an underlying health condition left their home (89%), but a lower proportion of those aged 70 years and over reported that they had left their home this week (83%).

The most popular reason to leave home this week continues to be shopping for basic necessities, with 76% of those who have left their home reporting doing so. Over 1 in 10 (14%) adults also said they had shopped for non-essential items such as clothes, furniture, and so on – up from 12% last week.

Just over 1 in 20 (6%) adults that had left their home this week did so to visit an outdoor beauty spot or beach, a decrease from 8% last week. The reasons for people leaving home differ between those aged 16 to 69 years and those aged over 70 years. Figure 1 shows younger people are more likely to meet up with other people, travel to work, and shop for non-essential items.

Face coverings

More than half of adults (52%) who have left their home have worn a face covering to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) – an increase from last week (43%).

Adults with an underlying health condition saw the greatest increase in the proportion wearing a face covering this week, up to 67% compared to 46% last week.

For those that had worn a face covering, the most common situation was while shopping (60%), followed by visiting a health or medical centre (23%).

Regardless of whether they had worn a face covering in the past, half of adults (58%) said they were either very or fairly likely to wear one in the next seven days.

It became mandatory to wear face coverings on public transport in England on 15 June. Of those adults who had used public transport in the past seven days, 89% had worn a face covering while doing so across all of Great Britain, and the rate in England was the same.

Support bubbles

At the time of the survey single adult households – in other words adults who live alone or with dependent children only – could form a “support bubble”. The two households in a support bubble were able to spend time together inside each other’s homes, including overnight, without needing to stay socially distanced.

This week people were asked whether they had formed a support bubble with another household during the last 7 days. Over a quarter of adults (26%) in England and Scotland said they had, and nearly 9 in 10 (89%) of them had either visited or been visited by the other household at least once.

Nearly 6 in 10 adults (57%) said the main reason for visiting another household was for relationships and companionship. Caring for an adult (12%) and providing or receiving childcare (13%) were the other main reasons given. A further 15% stated that they formed a support bubble for “other reasons” and the most common reason stated was to visit family.

Nearly a quarter of adults with children (23%) had formed a support bubble with another household and of these 1 in 5 (20%) said the main reason was to receive childcare.

This week, respondents were asked about their plans to take a holiday either in the UK or abroad this summer. A quarter of adults (25%) said they were likely or very likely to go on holiday in the UK this summer. However, just under 1 in 10 adults (9%) said they were likely or very likely to go on holiday abroad this summer.

As lockdown restrictions are gradually lifted, respondents were asked how comfortable they would be to eat at a restaurant either indoors or outdoors. 2 in 10 adults (20%) said they would be comfortable or very comfortable to eat indoors at a restaurant compared with 6 in 10 (60%) who said they would be uncomfortable or very uncomfortable. This varies by sex and age, with nearly 6 in 10 men (57%) of men uncomfortable or very uncomfortable to eat indoors at a restaurant, compared with 63% of women. For those aged over 70 years, nearly 7 in 10 (66%) are uncomfortable or very uncomfortable, compared with 6 in 10 of 16- to 69-year-olds (59%).

Opinions are split more evenly for eating outdoors at a restaurant with nearly 4 in 10 (37%) saying they would be comfortable or very comfortable and a similar number (39%) saying they would be uncomfortable or very uncomfortable.

People were also asked how comfortable they would be to visit the cinema. Just over 1 in 10 adults (13%) said they would be comfortable or very comfortable to visit the cinema, compared with 7 in 10 (70%) who said they would be uncomfortable or very uncomfortable.

Over half of working adults (56%) said the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was having an impact on their work. This is an increase from 52% last week. The most common impacts reported were:

• being furloughed

• being asked to work from home

• finding working at home difficult

Those who had been furloughed, had a temporary closure of their workplace, or had been asked to take leave were also asked this week how likely they were to return to the job they had before lockdown. Of these more than 7 in 10 (71%) said that they were likely or very likely to return to that job. Nearly 1 in 10 (9%) said they were unlikely or very unlikely to return to that job. A further 1 in 10 (11%) said they "didn't know" if they would return, perhaps reflecting the levels of uncertainty caused by lockdown.

The same proportion of working adults said they had either worked at home or travelled to work this week, compared with last week (78%). Over the past four weeks there has been an increasing proportion of working adults travelling to work, however this week a similar level reported they had travelled to work in the past seven days (48%) compared with last week (49%).

3 in 10 of adults (30%) who had worked in the last seven days said they had done so exclusively at home, again similar to last week (29%). The main reason for people working from home is still that their employer has asked them to do so (71%), but half (50%) also say it's because they are following government guidance. Just over 1 in 3 (35%) said it was because their workplace was closed.

Official estimates of labour market participation can be found in the Labour market overview.

More detailed information on changes to labour market participation can be found in Coronavirus and the latest indicators for the UK economy and society: 9 July 2020.

At the time of the survey, some children in England and Wales were able to return to school.

Of adults with children of school age, over 4 in 10 (45%) reported that they had been asked to send their children back to school, with over 8 in 10 (81%) of these saying that their children were now attending school some or all of the time. This week there has been an increase in the proportion of adults with children who can now attend school (40% last week), and the proportion whose children are attending some or all of the time has increased from 68% last week.

For children still being homeschooled, this week they spent on average 12 hours learning – a similar amount to last week (11 hours).

Of those who have homeschooled their children this week, over 6 in 10 adults (62%) said their children were struggling to continue their education at home – the same level as last week. Lack of motivation, lack of guidance and support, and limited parent or carer time to support were the most common reasons for children to be struggling. A detailed analysis of the social impacts the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had on younger people, was published on Monday 22 June.

Almost 7 in 10 adults (69%) said they were very or somewhat worried about the effect that the coronavirus (COVID-19) was having on their life now, which is the same as last week.

Although a similar proportion of adults said their well-being had been affected by the coronavirus pandemic this week when compared with last week (47% compared with 45%), some of the issues which may be associated with lockdown restrictions continue to fall. Of these, almost half (50%) reported they felt bored, compared with 45% last week and under one quarter (24%) said they were spending too much time alone, which has decreased from 34% last week.

Although average anxiety levels during the coronavirus pandemic have been falling overall since the end of March, this week they have increased to 4 from 3.6 the previous week. Anxiety is measured on a scale from 0 to 10 where 0 is “not at all anxious” and 10 is “completely anxious”.

Underlying health condition

In this bulletin, adults with an underlying health condition include those with:

• Alzheimer's disease or dementia

• angina or long-term heart problem

• asthma

• a learning disability such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or Asperger's (Asperger syndrome)

• conditions affecting the brain and nerves, such as Parkinson's disease

• cancer

• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or long-term lung problem

• diabetes

• kidney or liver disease

• a weakened immune system such as the result of conditions as HIV and AIDS, or medicines such as steroid tablets or treatment for cancer

• problems with your spleen - for example, sickle cell disease, or if you have had your spleen removed

• being overweight (having a BMI of 40 or above)

• given an organ transplant

• stroke or cerebral haemorrhage or cerebral thrombosis

• rheumatoid arthritis

In employment

For this survey, a person is said to be a "working adult" if:

• they had a paid job, either as an employee or self-employed

• they did any casual work for payment

• they did any unpaid or voluntary work in the previous week

Dependent children

A dependent child is defined as someone who is under the age of 16 years or someone who is aged 16 to 18 years, has never been married and is in full-time education.

The Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) is a monthly omnibus survey. In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we have adapted the OPN to become a weekly survey used to collect data on the impact of the coronavirus on day-to-day life in Great Britain. In this wave, 2,500 individuals were sampled, with a response rate of 72% (or 1,788 individuals) for the survey conducted from 2 July to 5 July 2020.

The survey results are weighted to be a nationally representative sample for Great Britain, and data are collected using an online self-completion questionnaire. Individuals who did not want to or were unable to complete the survey online had the opportunity to take part over the phone.

Where changes in results from previous weeks or differences between groups are presented in this bulletin, associated confidence intervals, which are included in the associated datasets, indicate their significance.

More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) QMI.

Sampling

A sample of 2,500 households were randomly selected from adults that had previously completed either the Labour Force Survey, the European Health Interview Survey or the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey. From each household, one adult was selected at random but with unequal probability. Younger people were given higher selection probability than older people because of under-representation in the sample available for the survey. Further information on the sample design can be found in the OPN QMI.

Weighting

The responding sample contained 1,788 individuals (72% response rate). Survey weights were applied to make estimates representative of the population.

Weights were first adjusted for non-response and attrition. Subsequently, the weights were calibrated to satisfy population distributions considering the following factors: sex by age, region, tenure, and highest qualification, employment status, National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC) group and smoking status. For age, sex and region, population totals based on projections of mid-year population estimates for July 2020 were used. The resulting weighted sample is therefore representative of the Great Britain adult population by a number of socio-demographic factors and geography.

The main strengths of the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) include:

• it allows for timely production of data and statistics that can respond quickly to changing needs

• it meets data needs: the questionnaire is developed with customer consultation, and design expertise is applied in the development stages

• robust methods are adopted for the survey's sampling and weighting strategies to limit the impact of bias

• quality assurance procedures are undertaken throughout the analysis stages to minimise the risk of error

The main limitations of the OPN include:

• the sample size is relatively small: 2,500 individuals per week with fewer completed interviews, meaning that detailed analyses for subnational geographies and other sub-groups are not possible

• comparisons between periods and groups must be done with caution as estimates are provided from a sample survey; as such, confidence intervals are included in the datasets to present the sampling variability, which should be taken into account when assessing differences between periods, as true differences may not exist