Fear of coronavirus fades as people focus on inflation and war

New poll shows that people who distrust the media think Slovakia should side with Russia.

Refugees from Ukraine at the pedestrian border crossing in Veľké Slemence, March 1, 2022.Refugees from Ukraine at the pedestrian border crossing in Veľké Slemence, March 1, 2022. (Source: SITA)

After two years dealing with the pandemic, people in Slovakia seem to have stopped worrying about Covid.

More than the coronavirus, people now say they fear growing prices, the war in Ukraine and the state of Slovakia's healthcare system, according to the latest results of a recurring poll, How Are You, Slovakia?, conducted by the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV), Mnforce and the Seesame communication agency. The latest survey was conducted between February 24 and March 1 on 1,000 respondents.

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Increasing prices for energy, and inflation more generally, was identified as a source of concern by the largest number of people, followed by the war in Ukraine and the state of the healthcare system.

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A big part of respondents' fears stemmed from the popularity of extremist and anti-system groups, and the arrival of refugees from countries affected by war. Less than one-quarter of respondents said they fear the coronavirus pandemic.

“The number of respondents who feel threatened by the coronavirus pandemic also decreased compared to December 2021,” the pollsters found.

While in December 2021 this group comprised 31.8 percent of people, in February and March 2022 it had fallen to 24 percent.

“Growing prices and the invasion of Ukraine by troops from the Russian Federation led people to quickly forget about the pandemic,” explained Miloslav Bahna, sociologist from the Institute of Sociology of SAV.

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