![]() In this study conducted in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, we examined the impacts of trust, worldviews, and risk perceptions on the acceptance of the measures implemented to reduce the number of infected people. The COVID-19 crisis provides an opportunity to examine the factors that influence people’s acceptance of measures aimed at reducing the number of infected people, and due to the dynamics of this pandemic, longitudinal studies are feasible. Therefore, human behavioral changes are needed to reduce the number of infected people and, consequently, the number of ill people who need medical treatments. To some extent, people suffering from COVID-19 can be medically treated, but in most countries, the medical systems are not designed to cope with the large number of additional (mostly older) persons who may become ill ( 4). This pandemic has not only killed numerous people, but in many countries, the measures implemented to reduce the spread of the virus have resulted in large economic losses and severe restrictions on freedom ( 2, 3). In late 2019, people in the Chinese city of Wuhan were infected by this virus, and because its spread could not be brought under control, a pandemic emerged. The world has experienced how disruptive a pandemic can be, with the widespread prevalence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that can cause COVID-19. The importance of worldviews and trust for public acceptance of the measures further suggests the necessity of a political discussion about the implemented measures.Ī pandemic is one of the major threats to human society ( 1). Our results suggest that as soon as the measures attain success or the public is tired of the implemented restrictions, public acceptance declines, and it seems difficult to prolong the measures as may be desirable from an epidemiological standpoint. Our data also support the idea that reduced risk perceptions and a decline in social trust are important drivers for the reduction in the acceptance of the measures in survey wave 2. Finally, the acceptance of the measures declined. This desired effect not only reduced people’s perceived risks but also decreased their social trust and increased the conviction that other risks were neglected. ![]() The number of infected people declined between survey waves 1 and 2. Our findings showed that people with individualistic worldviews, high general interpersonal trust, low social trust, a low level of perceived risks, and the conviction that risks other than health risks were neglected had less acceptance of the implemented measures compared with people who held the opposite views on the mentioned variables. We conducted a two-wave longitudinal survey in Switzerland ( n = 1,223) to study the factors that would influence perceived risks and the acceptance of the measures. However, these measures only work if they are generally accepted by the public. Because of the outbreak of COVID-19, most countries have implemented measures aimed at reducing the number of infected people.
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