BACKGROUND COLOUR

As testing increases, anxiety falls

Analysis
. .
24 Aug 2021

The number of people who had been tested for Covid-19 continued to rise over the year as the number who thought they would get infected in the next six months dropped. Anxiety over the pandemic fell to the lowest level recorded.

27 %

Testing increased over the pandemic period with 27% tested by November 2020.

33 %

A third of people of prime working age, 25-34 were tested by November.

53 %

While anxiety about Covid decreased, more than half still felt worry in November.

17 %

The proportion of people who thought they were likely to become infected by Covid-19 in six months time halved from August to November to 17%.

Per cent of Australians Who Reported Anxiety and Worry due to COVID-19, by sex and age
Thinking about the spread of COVID-19 that is currently occurring. Have you felt anxious or worried for the safety of yourself, close family members or friends, due to COVID-19?
Sources & Methodology
Variable description % who responded 'Yes', by month
Variable time span April 2020 - November 2020
Published by ANU Poll
Publisher Link https://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/research/publications/tracking-outcomes-during-covid-19-pandemic-november-2020-counting-costs-covid
Data Source doi:10.26193/VYPO6E
CSV Data
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SOURCES
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As the second wave of the pandemic was brought under control, anxiety and worry about the pandemic fell.

As the second wave of the pandemic was brought under control, anxiety and worry about the pandemic fell. While more than half of those surveyed (53.2 per cent) still felt worry, that figure was a more than 10 per cent fall from October and it was also the lowest it had been since this tracking survey began.

The concern a person would be likely get the coronavirus sometime in the next 6 months dropped more dramatically, halving from October from 34.1 per cent to 16.8 per cent in November.

Females thought it was more likely they would be infected than males, as did those born overseas in a non-English speaking country. Young adults (under 35) and older Australians (over 65) thought they would be less likely to get COVID-19.

Per cent of Australians who had been Tested for COVID-19, by age and sex
Thinking about the spread of COVID-19 that is currently occurring. Have you have been tested by a doctor or nurse for COVID-19?
Sources & Methodology
Variable description By age and sex
Variable time span August 2020 - November 2020
Published by ANU Poll
Publisher Link https://csrm.cass.anu.edu.au/research/publications/tracking-outcomes-during-covid-19-pandemic-november-2020-counting-costs-covid
Data Source doi:10.26193/VYPO6E
CSV Data
PNG Image
CHART
SOURCES
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More Australians were tested by November.

More Australians were tested by November 2020. In August, 19.3 per cent said they had been tested for the coronavirus, while by November 26.9 per cent said they had been tested.

Unsurprisingly, the figure was higher in Victoria which had just gone through the second wave of the pandemic. More than a third, 34.8 per cent, of Victorians said they'd been tested while the figure for the rest of Australia was 24.1 per cent.

The number of males who said they'd been tested rose more sharply from August to November than for females, although a higher number of females said they'd been tested.