For one in four income decreased due to corona
September 24th 2020
More and more participants of UAntwerp’s Great Corona Study are in quarantine
Twenty-four per cent of respondents said that their income will have decreased in 2020. This is according to a new wave of the Great Corona Study, which also shows that more and more people are in quarantine.
Last Tuesday, around 19,500 people participated in the twentieth wave of the Great Corona Study. The large-scale questionnaire is an initiative of UAntwerp, supported by UHasselt, KU Leuven and ULB. The Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) provides a financial boost. An initial analysis of the results – as is done every two weeks – provides some interesting observations.
The number of participants in quarantine has risen considerably over the past two weeks: from less than 1% on 8 September to 3% (580 participants) this week.
Of the respondents who are (or should be) in quarantine, 61% said they always comply. 31% do so most of the time. Two weeks ago, those numbers were higher.
People who are in quarantine because they came into contact with an infected person clearly comply better with the rules than people who are in quarantine because they returned from a red zone.
If participants add up their sources of income (wages, child benefit, allowances, etc.) to date, 24% find that the total sum will have decreased or sharply decreased in 2020. Only a small minority say they have more income now.
At the start of the academic year, the Great Corona Study also included some specific questions for students. 78% of students indicated that they were well or very well informed by their college or university. Most institutions started in code yellow, others opted for code orange. Many students find code yellow too risky; but at the same time, many students find code orange too cautious.
Be sure to take a look at https://corona-studie.shinyapps.io/corona-studie/, a project by Jonas Crèvecoeur. The website has been completely redesigned. Here you can find a comprehensive overview of the results of this study to date.
The Great Corona Study is organised every two weeks. The next wave is scheduled for Tuesday 6 October between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. (available in four languages).