82% of the persons agree to wear masks in closed public places, on units of transport and in stores, while 73% said they will continue to obey the protective measures even when these are no longer mandatory, shows a study of the behavioral insights on COVID-19 in Moldova that was presented by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection on October 2, IPN reports.

38% of the respondents consider they can become infected and this would be serious, while 28% do not believe in the gravity of the novel coronavirus. 70% of those surveyed said they inform themselves about the virus often. 80% said it is easy for them to understand and use the information about COVID-19. At the same time, one in three respondents said it is hard for them to determine if the information broadcast by the media is reliable. 59% even consider that the reports on the novel coronavirus are exaggerated.

The poll shows 83% of the respondents are concerned that the pandemic will have economic consequences for them in the future. For 47%, the financial situation worsened during the past three months, while for 49% the situation remained unchanged.

The second study of the kind reveals a decline in the unhealthy behaviors among the people: only 13% said they practiced sport less than usual, against 34% in July. 5% ate more unhealthy food, compared to 17% in July, while 2% drank more alcohol, as opposed to 8% in July.

The readiness to be vaccinated if a vaccine is developed remained at the same level as in the first poll. 31% of the respondents are ready to accept it.  

The second study was carried out during August 14-21 and covered a sample of 1,009 persons older than 18 from 343 localities of Moldova, except for the Transnistrian region. The margin of sampling error is ± 3%.