In a recent telephonic survey among residents of the National Capital Region (NCR), it was found that about 95% of all respondents wore masks as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19, when they stepped out in the last one week.
Findings from the third round of surveys undertaken by the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) relate to trends in social distancing and risk perception among respondents, ways in which households have been effected, access to welfare measures and difficulties in getting back to work and staying safe, the report notes. The survey was carried out in mid-June when the lockdown restrictions were being relaxed but the number of infections in NCR were rising.
Areas surveyed
Areas surveyed included metropolitan areas of Delhi as well as rural areas in the NCR’s districts in Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the NCAER said.
The survey threw up interesting information about the precautions taken by the respondents when they went outside or after returning home in the last one week. Among rural and urban respondents, a whopping 95.3% said that they wore masks or nose and mouth coverings.
Those who said they washed their hands with soap were fewer at 65.7% and those who said they maintained a distance of three feet or more were even fewer at 45.4%.
While differences in responses among rural and urban respondents were minor in most cases, the percentage of rural respondents using sanitisers were only 57.1% compared to 75.9% of urban respondents. Similarly, the percentage of urban respondents who had a bath after returning home, wore gloves and put away clothes for washing separately were also comparatively higher.
Senior citizens
Out of those surveyed, 73% respondents had reportedly gone outside in the last week for some purpose or the other. Among these a higher percentage of men at 77% went out compared to women at 54%. It also noted that the most educated and salaried workers were the most likely to go out, at the same time, they were the ones who took more precautions compared to others. Additionally, though respondents over the age of 60 were the least likely to go out, the survey found that in the last one week at least 61% of them had ventured outside. Among activities people had resumed, about 78% people had started going to work, 18% had resumed social activities such as visiting families and friends, and 12% were reportedly visiting places of worship.
Similar to the round two survey conducted at the end of April, a vast majority of people, about 85% reported reduction in their incomes for the month of May, with households whose primary source of income was casual wage work and small business suffering the most.