Around three in 10 adults, or 30 per cent, feel that life will return to normal in six months or less, an increase from around one in 10 about two months ago, the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The highest number of hopefuls were in London, where exactly a third of adults in the British capital said they felt their lives would return to normal within six months, Xinhua news agency quoted the ONS as saying on Friday.
The lowest level of hopefuls, 25 per cent of adults, was recorded in the East of England and the Yorkshire and Humberside regions.
Nationally, signs of hope for the future were highest among adults aged 70 and over, with almost one in three thinking their lives would return to normal in six months or less.
Meanwhile, 32 per cent of men and 34 per cent of women believe the post-coronavirus recovery will take longer, believing life will return to normal only after seven months to a year.
The ONS said their latest survey revealed 19 per cent adults in Britain experienced forms of anxiety and depression in November, doubling the number reported before the pandemic.
Almost half of adults reported that their well-being was affected by the pandemic, increasing to 81 per cent among people who had experienced some form of depression and/or some form of anxiety.
Among people who said the coronavirus was affecting their well-being, the most common effects reported were feeling stressed or anxious (62 per cent), feeling bored (51 per cent) and feeling worried about the future (49 per cent).
England is currently under a new three-tier system of coronavirus restrictions.
The system, which put about 98 per cent of England into the highest Tier Two and Three, is due to be reviewed on December 16.
The UK has so far reported 1,814,395 coronavirus cases and 63,603 deaths.
–IANS
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