According to the latest findings of the “Edelman Trust Barometer,” a majority of the people surveyed across the globe believe that the governments must prioritize better the heath condition rather than focusing on restarting the economies, halted by the coronavirus spread.
Key findings
“Overall, 67% of the 13,200-plus people interviewed between April 15 and April 23 agreed with the statement: “The government’s highest priority should be saving as many lives as possible even if it means the economy will recover more slowly.”
Just one-third backed the assertion: “It is becoming more important for the government to save jobs and restart the economy than to take every precaution to keep people safe.”
Some 76% of Japanese respondents agreed public health should be prioritised over the economy against just 56% in China, where the outbreak was first detected late last year. China now has only a handful of new cases a day, after imposing a strict lockdown earlier.
Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, said: “It’s complicated because you have two crises simultaneously – a health crisis and an economic crisis. But people are saying, ‘We’ve already had six to seven weeks of this (restriction on activity), what’s another week or two?’”
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