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44% of B.C. residents think pre-COVID-19 conditions won’t return until fall: poll

73% say they’ll get a vaccine when one is made
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A pedestrian and cyclist pass a closed business with a mural that says ‘Stay Apart’ on the boarded up windows, in downtown Vancouver, on Sunday, April 19, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Nearly half of British Columbians don’t expect life to return to normal until at least fall, a poll from Research Co. suggests.

The poll, released Tuesday (April 21) found that 44 per cent of people in B.C. don’t expect pre-coronavirus conditions till at least mid-September. That figure was the latest option presented in the poll, and British Columbians were the second-most skeptical of an early return, with just Atlantic provinces out ahead at 51 per cent for a fall return, and all Canadians at 38 per cent.

As of Tuesday morning, Canada had more than 38,000 cases of COVID-19 and 1,831 deaths. Quebec was home to more than half of both cases and deaths, with Ontario accounting for one-third and B.C. with 1,699 cases and 86 deaths.

Only six per cent of British Columbians thought life would go back to normal by mid-May, while between 10-15 per cent of Canadians believed life would return to normal for each month of the summer (June, July and August).

The results are similar to predictions being made by B.C. health officials, who’ve said any gatherings that take place over the summer months would likely have to stay under 50 people and remain physically distanced. Henry said truly normal life would not resume until a vaccine emerged but that some restrictions could be loosened in May.

The poll found 73 per cent of British Columbians would either definitely or probably take a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available, compared 13 per cent who would probably or definitely not take it. Another 13 per cent said they were unsure.

According to Research Co., results are based on an online poll held from April 13-15 among 1,000 Canadians. The pollster said the data was statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region, and the margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.

READ MORE: B.C. opens up COVID-19 testing to track community infections

READ MORE: Canadians trust their family doctor more than the PM on COVID-19, says poll

READ MORE: B.C. reports 5 new COVID-19 deaths as total test positive cases near 1,700


@katslepian

katya.slepian@bpdigital.ca

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