(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Troy Gillard

More than 3,000 respondents

Survey reveals top COVID concerns of Red Deerians

Mar 2, 2021 | 12:48 PM

The economy, social and health issues were the top COVID-19-related concerns raised by Red Deerians in a recent survey commissioned by The City of Red Deer.

The online survey conducted in December by the Ethelo online platform on behalf of The City received more than 11,000 comments from 3,083 citizens.

It found that 79 per cent of respondents were concerned about the economy, 78 per cent were worried about the social impacts of the pandemic and 76 per cent were worried about health and safety.

There were also concerns expressed over hospital capacity, impacts of the pandemic on children, the well-being of essential workers, public testing and transparency, and the impacts on personal freedom.

When it comes to one of the most hotly debated issues of the pandemic, 54 per cent of respondents favoured mask-wearing while 43 per cent did not. The remaining two per cent were undecided.

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Eighteen percent of survey respondents said they normally get info about COVID-19 from the Alberta Government’s website. The City of Red Deer website was the primary source for 15 per cent of respondents, followed by Facebook and traditional news sources.

The survey results were shared with city council on Monday in a report on The City of Red Deer’s overall response to the pandemic.