This file photo, taken Sept. 15, 2021, shows closed stores in the shopping district of Myeongdong in downtown Seoul amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Close to 6 in 10 South Koreans believe the current COVID-19 situation to be serious, a poll showed Tuesday.
A research team from Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health conducted a nationwide survey of 1,000 South Koreans men and women over 18 years of age, 59.2 percent of whom believed that the current COVID-19 situation in the country was ‘serious’, easily surpassing other responses like ‘more or less okay’ (34.1 percent) or ‘not serious’ (6.7 percent).
Another 48.3 percent of the respondents said they were ‘fearful’ of the current COVID-19 situation.
Respondents picked economic instability and lower income as the biggest consequences of the resurgence of the pandemic.
At 38.2 percent, than one-third of the respondents believed that South Korea’s response to the resurging pandemic was ‘ineffective’, surpassing those who thought it was ‘effective’ (15.5 percent).
When it came to testing, 41.1 percent responded that they might not use a home test kits or receive a professional test for coronavirus even if they have symptoms.
Another 32.7 percent said that even if they tested positive for COVID-19 with a self-test kit, they would not follow up with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and other certified tests for final confirmation.
The research team said there need to be additional incentives and benefits for individuals getting tested for COVID-19.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
