A majority of people in Germany approve of the government’s stricter rules to curb the spread of COVID-19 but are less worried about the omicron variant, a new national survey revealed this week.
The latest “Deutschlandtrend” survey, released by public broadcaster ARD, polled over 1,300 people from January 3 through January 5.
The representative poll comes nearly a month after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government took over the reins of Germany’s pandemic response.
It also comes ahead of a meeting on Friday between federal and state leaders to discuss new pandemic rules — including whether to shorten quarantine times.
The survey logged a substantial drop in concern over omicron and other coronavirus variants.
While a majority of people in Germany — 51% — listed their level of concern over variants as “very high or high,” that figure actually dropped by nine points compared to responses in early December.
The poll also showed a generally positive response to the stricter curbs enacted by Germany’s new government after taking office.
Some 42% of people surveyed said they think the current measures to stem the spread of COVID-19 “are appropriate.” That figure is up by 22 points compared with early December, when public opinion in Germany was very much in favor of enacting tighter curbs.
Photo – People wearing masks wait for entering a shopping mall in front of signs reading ‘Please keep distance” on a street in Berlin, Germany. EPA-EFE/HAYOUNG JEON
