About 30 per cent of Kenyans are not afraid of the coronavirus, according to new research released on Friday by global think tank GeoPoll.
GeoPoll, whose head office is in the US, said that five per cent of Kenyans are not concerned.
However, 80 per cent believe they will be worse off financially as the virus spreads.
“Seventy-one per cent of Kenyan respondents reported that their concern regarding the coronavirus was 'very high,'” Geo Poll vice president Roxana Elliott said.
The research was conducted between March 10 and 13 and focused on knowledge and perceptions towards coronavirus in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria.
“Despite relatively low numbers of cases in each country, concern over coronavirus is high. We found that 71 per cent in Kenya, 69 per cent in Nigeria, and 72 per cent in South Africa rated their level of concern as ‘very high,'” the report said.
It said 94 per cent are aware of the pandemic, noting that there were high levels of uncertainty in Kenya with 27 per cent stating that they were not sure and 12 per cent believing there had been confirmed cases.
About 25 per cent reported many items being out of stock while 40 per cent said some items have run out of stock since the coronavirus outbreak.
“We found social media was the most common source of information for coronavirus among the populations studied, with 47 per cent stating that social media is one of their primary information sources, followed by TV and radio.”
The study said that 75 per cent of the respondents were aware of the symptoms of coronavirus – fever, cough, shortness of breath and that the disease was spread by being near or touching an infected person.
“Overall 70 per cent believe they are at risk of being exposed, and public places, as well as public transport, are thought of as the places with the greatest risk of exposure,” the report said.
Seventy-three per cent believe they know how to prevent coronavirus and increasing hygiene was the most-cited preventative measure.
Some 43 per cent believe it was the responsibility of health organisations to stop the spread of the coronavirus while 31% viewed it the responsibility of a ‘Global Coalition’.
The study had 1,350 respondents spread across the country with a 50-50 gender split, and an age split of 33 per cent aged 15-24, 35 per cent aged 25-34, and 32 per cent aged 35 plus.
– mwaniki fm
