Majority of readers in Yorkshire critical of Boris Johnson’s handling of coronavirus crisis with concerns over schools reopening

A survey has found that concerns over public transport and the reopening of schools rank highly for the people of Yorkshire amid the coronavirus pandemic
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As different parts of the UK emerge from the lockdown at different speeds, a poll of readers across Yorkshire has revealed that the majority believe Boris Johnson has not handled the coronavirus crisis well.

The survey, carried out by JPIMedia titles across the UK over the weekend, received more than 12,000 respondents in total and asked readers a series of questions about the lockdown.

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Nationally it found that 35 per cent of the British public think Downing Street has handled the crisis “not at all well”, while 21 per cent replied with “not very well”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (Getty)Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (Getty)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (Getty)

Only 12 per cent of readers thought the Prime Minister and his cabinet had handled it “very well”, while 31 per cent answered “somewhat well".

Readers across Yorkshire specifically returned similar results, with 39 per cent believing that the government's response to the pandemic fell under the "not at all well" category with 16 per cent saying that the situation had been dealt with "not very well" across the region.

30 per cent fell into the "somewhat well" option with 13 per cent choosing "very well".

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Readers were also asked how clear the revised slogan and public message of "Stay alert; control the virus; save lives" was, with 37 per cent believing that this advice was "not at all clear" in Yorkshire.

Just five per cent of respondents said they would be "very comfortable" taking public transport while 63 per cent said they were "not at all comfortable" over the thought of travelling around the county in this way.

Asked about what would make people more comfortable being out in public places, 41 per cent said readily available testing for people to find out if they are infected would make them "much more confident".

While 30 per cent said that an NHS mobile phone app for tracking infections would not make any difference, with 36 per cent also saying that mandatory wearing of face coverings would also not make a difference.

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Readers were also asked about the areas in which they thought posed the highest risk of causing a second wave of the virus, with public transport receiving the overwhelming majority of the vote with 42 per cent.

According to the results of the survey, schools reopening is seen as a moderate risk alongside workplaces re-opening, meeting up with a small group of friends and visiting family.

For the latter, 34 per cent also responded saying they felt "somewhat comfortable" visiting family in the current climate while 30 per cent also said that they were "not at all comfortable" with sending their children back to school at the moment.

Unsurprisingly, readers believed that taking flights to European holiday destinations posed the highest risk of causing a second wave from leisure activities. Visiting popular destinations such as beaches, parks and beauty spots was seen as the lowest risk.

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Finally, asked about how people were adhering to the current lockdown rules, 44 per cent of respondents said those in their local area were following guidelines "somewhat closely" with 16 per cent responding "not at all closely."