Promoting Resilience While Mitigating Disease Transmission: An Australian COVID-19 Study

This chapter presents evidence to inform evolving Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response planning by analysing how Australians were thinking, feeling and behaving in response to the so-called “first wave” of the COVID-19 epidemic and the associated public health measures. Australia has a federated political system featuring overlapping responsibilities between a federal government, eight state and territory governments and local governments. The political geography of Australia, as an island continent, has informed the shape of the responses. The questionnaire was administered online to members of the YouGov Australia panel of individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys of public opinion. Respondents were asked to report their level of worry about the COVID-19 situation in Australia. High numbers of respondents in both Surveys provided free text responses criticising the behaviour of other people, suggesting some sort of moral, character or behavioural flaw.