Corona exhaustion: people request common sense in re-opening society
In parallel with the surveys, the project’s researchers are conducting interviews with people in Denmark about how they are experiencing the corona crisis, and what it means for their well-being. In particular, we are asking how people are managing the crisis in general and the lockdown in particular. These interviews enable us to learn about the immediate effects of the current situation on people’s behaviour, mental health, and well-being, and thus to analyse the possible consequences (e.g., on social relationships, health, finances, etc.). At this time, we have interviewed 20 adult residents between the ages of 24 and 83 from various areas of the country. Each person has been given a pseudonym, and we have removed any identifying features from their quotes so that they cannot be recognised.
The lockdown has been implemented well
The vast majority of our informants think that the lockdown has been well-managed, well-communicated, and easy to live with. This also applies to older people. For example, Lise (age 81) said, “I really think I’ve done well. I thought it would have been worse,” although she added, “of course, I miss the nearness of and contact [with] my children and grandchildren.” With regards to the lockdown, Hanne (age 76) said that “it’s been boring”, but “I don't feel like it’s been a big disaster for me.” However, others have been more affected; Johan (age 64) said: “My whole body is unsettled because nothing is happening. (…) I wouldn’t say I’m getting depressed from it, but it’s very empty.”
Corona exhaustion
However, if the lockdown was meant to be implemented for a limited period of time in order to show consideration for others, then people are now reporting fatigue. For example, Annette (age 48) said, “I think the news is only focused on corona. I mean: Updated, updated, updated. And to me, it doesn’t matter if one thing or another has happened.” Hanne (age 76) said, “Regardless of whether you turn on the radio or the TV news, it can’t be that nothing else has happened in the country for six weeks other than corona, corona, corona.”
Many do not understand the logics for re-opening society
At the same time that corona exhaustion is beginning to set in, our informants are also expressing doubts about how society is being re-opened. They do not always seem to understand the rationale behind the choices being made, and they may disagree with the priorities; for example, some wonder why small children have been chosen first. In addition, Mathias (age 83) said, “I really wonder why they’ve chosen to [open up] hairdressers and foot therapists and orthopaedists.” Likewise, Hanne (age 76) said, “I really can’t understand the way they are opening up. (…) You can go to the dentist, and then the dentist has to stand there and dig into your mouth. (…) But you can’t go down to the municipality and get your driver’s license renewed, for example. I don’t believe that it’s more dangerous to stand behind a counter and process a photo and a certificate than it is to [visit the] dentist or to shop in a store.”
Klaus Høyer from the project’s qualitative team states:
The exhaustion that people are expressing now may indicate that it is time to change strategies. Simple, strict guidelines and injunctions worked well with regards to the lockdown but they do not seem to be working as well during a long-term re-opening of society. Most people will go a long way to follow the rules, but the rules must make sense in relation to reducing the rate of infection. This means that, if the threat of infection is going to be kept down, there is likely a need to appeal more to people’s judgment – and to provide information that they can use to exercise their judgement rather than to harshly enforce the prohibitions that have been adopted.