On Monday 16th March 2020 the UK government announced new actions to control COVID-19. These recommendations directly affected the entire UK population, and included the following: stop non-essential contact with others; stop all unnecessary travel; start working from home where possible; avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues; and to isolate at home for 14 days if anyone in the household has a high temperature or a new and continuous cough.

To capture public sentiment towards these recommendations, a YouGov survey was commissioned by the Patient Experience Research Centre (PERC), Imperial College London. The survey was completed by 2,108 UK adults between the dates of 17th – 18th March 2020. The survey results show the following:

• 77% reported being worried about the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK.
• 48% of adults who have not tested positive for COVID-19 believe it is likely they will be infected at some point in the future.
• 93% of adults reported personally taking at least one measure to protect themselves from COVID-19 infection, including:
o 83% washed their hands more frequently;
o 52% avoided crowded areas;
o 50% avoided social events;
o 36% avoided public transport;
o 31% avoided going out;
o 11% avoided going to work;
o 28% avoided travel to areas outside the UK.
• There is high reported ability and willingness to self-isolate for 7 days* if advised to do so by a health professional (88%).
• However only 44% reported being able to work from home. This was higher among managerial and professional workers (60%) than manual, semi-skilled, and casual workers (19%)^, reflecting less flexible job roles for manual and lower grade workers.
• 71% reported changing behaviour in response to government guidance. The figure (53%) was lower for young adults (18-24 year-olds).
• Hand washing (63%), avoiding persons with symptoms (61%), and covering your sneeze (53%) were more likely to be perceived as ‘very effective’ measures to prevent COVID-19 spread than common social distancing measures (avoiding going out (31%), to work (23%), to shops (16%) or to schools (19%)).