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How did people in Europe and SE Asia experience the first COVID-19 wave?

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

An international team, led by Phaik Yeong Cheah, conducted an anonymous online survey from May-June 2020, asking 5,058 people in Thailand, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Italy and Slovenia to share their experiences. Anne Osterrieder and colleagues in the Centre for Tropical Medicine & Global Health (Nuffield Department of Medicine) report the unequal impacts of public health measures, and the prevalence of ‘fake news’.

Photo of a busy desk, with a laptop and a mask © Supa-at Asarath

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 our lives changed dramatically, as governments implemented various public health measures to curb the spread of the virus. But what were the impacts of those restrictions on different social groups, and how did people receive information about COVID-19?

Between May-June 2020, in the first wave of the pandemic, the mixed-methods SEBCOV study asked people in Thailand, Malaysia, UK, Italy and Slovenia to share their experiences. Over 5,000 respondents completed our anonymous online survey. Now published in BMJ Open, SEBCOV’s data showed that COVID-19 and public health measures affected people from different countries and social groups unequally.

Read the full story on the Centre for Tropical Medicine & Global Health website.

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