About half of New Zealanders surveyed think current Covid-19 restrictions are appropriate, with the rest split almost evenly between wanting fewer or more restrictions.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The Mind and Mood of New Zealanders: The Arrival of Omicron report polled 1004 New Zealanders aged over 18 between 4 and 11 February this year looked at the response to the traffic light system.
About 51 percent believed the current restrictions were a good balance between controlling the outbreak and allowing daily life to continue, compared to 26 percent who felt the restrictions should loosen and 24 percent who believed there should be more restrictions.
Those happy with current settings were more likely to be retired. Those wanting fewer restrictions were more likely to be in Canterbury and less likely to be in Auckland.
Concern about catching Covid-19 was the highest it had been since the first survey in the series in February 2020, with only 15 percent of respondents not worried about the effects of Omicron over the coming month.
However, the perception of the government's interventions were also the least favourable since polling began, with just 63 percent saying they felt the government was doing a good job, down from 83 percent a year ago. The rating had consistently been in the 80-90 percent range over the past two years.
Fewer people also believed borders should be kept shut, with support for such a measure dropping to 47 percent, down from 75 percent a year ago. Confidence in the management of the border also dropped to 47 percent, down from 66 percent.
Perceptions of employers and businesses' work to contain the virus were also down but only slightly, to 82 percent compared to 86 percent a year ago.
There was a slight increase in the number of people who said they would feel very nervous about leaving home even if businesses were allowed to open fully - to 47 percent from 41 percent a year ago - but that was still lower than the 55 percent recorded at the beginning of the outbreak.
The survey is the latest in a series began by Ipsos - the world's third-largest market research company - and has no third-party backers. The survey had a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points.
Ipsos New Zealand research director Amanda Dudding said pride and confidence in the country's management of Covid-19 was showing real signs of cracking, with growing levels of discontent, but for many that was related to restrictions at the border and only 12 percent reported feeling angry about the restrictions.
Read the full report: