Two years on from the start of the pandemic, and despite the fact that almost all COVID restrictions have now been lifted, the majority of people are still taking voluntary precautions against infection.

According to an ONS attitudes survey released today, most adults report taking at least one preventative measure to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Around four-fifths, 81%, of people say they are still frequently washing or sanitising hands, 76% are still wearing face coverings and 57% are avoiding crowded places.

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Since the lifting of most COVID restrictions last month, case numbers are rising again.

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The latest COVID dashboard data, released yesterday evening, showed the number of positive cases recorded in the last week rose by 52%, or 169,186 cases, to 492,103.

Hospitalisations have also increased. 10,315 patients were admitted in the last seven days, up 18%. The number of deaths within 28 days of a positive test has fallen however.

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Despite that, the survey showed 9% of people think life is already back to normal, up from 4% who thought that at the end of December last year.

‘More than a year for life to get back to normal’

But, even more people, 12% – more than one in ten – think life will never return to normal.

Disabled people are more likely than non-disabled people to feel life will never return to normal, while non-disabled people are more likely to feel life is already back to normal.

More affluent people, those who can afford an unexpected £850 expense, are three times more likely than those who are struggling financially to feel that life has already returned to normal.

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Of those who don’t yet think we’re back to a pre-COVID normal, almost a third of people, 32%, felt it would take more than a year for life to get back to normal.

That is almost three times higher than at the start of the pandemic – when surveyed two years ago in March 2020 only 11% thought it would take more than a year for normality to return.

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