New survey shows that Saudis are most concerned about the threat posed by the new coronavirus to the Gulf region
Saudis are most concerned about the threat posed by the new coronavirus, known as COVID-19, to the Gulf region, according to a new survey.
Overall, 59 percent of Gulf respondents to a global study conducted by YouGov said they saw the virus as a "major threat to public health".
Respondents from Saudi Arabia (67 percent) are more likely to consider corona virus as a major threat in their area of residence, followed by people in Kuwait (61 percent) and UAE (52 percent).
The survey also showed that 89 percent of residents from the three surveyed countries in the region were familiar with the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
Recently, the World Health Organisation listed recommendations for people to protect themselves and others from getting infected.
Overall, fewer than two-thirds of GCC residents said they are already taking these precautionary measures to safeguards themselves against the disease.
Globally, people in Europe and the United States reported lower levels of familiarity with the virus compared to those from the GCC region while awareness within the Asia-Pacific region - which is the most heavily afflicted - seems to be varied.
Having started in Wuhan province in China, the disease has since spread to more than 35 countries outside China, claiming more than 2,800 lives.
YouGov’s international study conducted among more than 27,000 people in 23 countries and regions captured the sentiments of people and the differing attitude to the disease.
Even though the coronavirus outbreak has been the most significant international news story for the past two months, familiarity with the disease is not evenly spread, it said.
The poll showed people in Asian and GCC nations are substantially more likely to feel threatened by the disease than Europeans and Americans.
In Asia-Pacific and the GCC region the majority (58-77 percent) consider the virus a major threat while in the nine European countries surveyed this figure ranged from 7-28 percent and in the US it stood at 27 percent.
In almost every country and region surveyed people are more likely to see coronavirus as a major threat globally than at home, with the exception of China and Hong Kong.
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