More than half of people in Norwich have seen their mental and physical health get worse during the last 12 months, according to a survey.
The poll, ran by this newspaper, asked people to say if their mental health had worsened, stayed the same or improved over the last year, with only 7pc saying the latter.
Of the 519 respondents, 322 (62pc) said their mental health had got worse, while 163 (31pc) said it was around the same.
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In the same survey, which asked people for their experiences on a wide range of topics over the last year, 310 (60pc) said they were doing less physical activity than before. However a quarter said they were exercising more.
Here's what else people said in our survey:
Vaccine rollout progress makes us feel safer
According to the results of our poll, only a small minority said they do not feel safer as a result of the progress made in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
Asked to answer on a scale of one (not safe at all) to five (completely safe), only 12pc chose the two lowest numbers.
Only a small minority (14pc) said they felt completely safe, but most respondents were upbeat about the vaccine rollout with almost half (45pc) answering with a four.
Tiny minority admit to breaking restrictions regularly
Of the 519 readers who answered our survey, 36 very honest people admitted they did not abide by lockdown restrictions.
Almost half (49pc) said they had followed the rules to the letter, while the rest all admitted to a few minor indiscretions.
Might pubs suffer even after lockdown?
Pubs have been among the businesses hardest hit by lockdowns and restrictions designed to limit the spread of the virus.
But even once they are allowed to open their doors once again, the number of people who come rushing back to the bar might be lower.
Almost half (43pc) said they believe their will visit their local watering hole less often than they did before, while 25pc said they planned on going back more often.
Ian Stamp, chairman of the Norwich and District branch of Campaign for Real Ale, said: “Pubs are going to have to encourage people to return and it's not going to be easy because some people are still not quite ready to come back.
“It was safe for people to return before and we don’t really see why it shouldn't be safe now. All though last summer rates didn’t go up.
“Pubs spent a lot of money to put measures in place to make things safe. It was all seated and controlled, whereas in a lot of other environments there were half-hearted attempts at distancing and masking.
“Pubs were very rigorous about it in my experience.”
Stefan Gurney, executive director of Norwich BID, said: “We have been working with public health, the city council and the business community to make sure the city is as open and compliant as it can ahead of the full removal of lockdown on June 21 with non essential retail opening on April 12.
“We’ve seen what we need to do to make sure everyone can come into the city with confidence. Businesses have all opened up in different ways after lockdown one and two, and it will be similar this time.
“We’ve all had to change the way we live but we know there is an appetite to get back out cautiously to socialise and to use the city centre again.”
One in 10 worried are about losing their jobs
Lockdown has meant many shops, restaurants, bars and attractions, as well as many other sectors, have been forced to close their doors.
This hasn't so far resulted in a rapid rise in unemployment, as the furlough scheme has helped to protect jobs, but this is expected to change in 2021.
While more than half of people who took part in the survey were not worried about losing my job in the next 12 months, more than a tenth (16pc) said they did fear unemployment.
A similar number (12pc) said they had already lost their job as a result of Covid.
After months of home working for many, asked whether they were looking forward to returning to the workplace 26pc said yes but 13pc said no.
No trips abroad for most
Just 20pc of our readers plan to cross international borders for a holiday in 2021, if restrictions allow, with most choosing to stay in the UK.
In fact, 48pc of respondents to our survey said they aren't planning to book a holiday at all this year, while the other 31pc said they want to head out on a domestic trip.
Pete Waters, executive director of Visit East of England, said: “From our perspective it is unlikely that there will be large scale overseas tourism this year.
“So 2021 is a great opportunity for the East of England’s tourism businesses to show what a brilliant offer they have.
“It is likely that we will see a lot of residents out and about but also people who would otherwise have been sunning themselves in the Mediterranean or the Greek islands.
“The priority is going to be making sure that residents and visitors alike feel safe this summer.”
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