A majority of Catalans, 53.6%, believe that the government of Catalonia knows how to solve the problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and most of this group (45.5%) say that for the Torra administration to solve them, what it needs is more power to be able to take action. On the other hand, the Catalan view of the Spanish government's performance is just the inverse: 50.3% think that the Sánchez executive does not know how to deal with the pandemic that has already caused more than 24,500 deaths in Spain.
These figures are revealed by a survey released this Thursday by the the Catalan CEO survey agency on the impact of Covid-19, which includes questions assessing the management of the pandemic. A majority of respondents agree with the argument frequently made by the Catalan government - that they have the ability to manage the coronavirus crisis, but cannot do so as they have been denied the political power. 40.4% disagree, saying the Torra administration doesn't know how to resolve the crisis.
When the same question is asked about the Pedro Sánchez government, the proportion who feel the Spanish authorities don't know how to solve the problems of the pandemic rises to over half of those interviewed, while of the rest, only 8.4% say that the Spanish government is "resolving the crisis" at present, and others say the coalition government isn't yet resolving the problem because it needs more powers (19.1%) or time (16%).
Symptoms
The survey also asks Catalans about their health. Up to 27.7% of Catalans had been unwell and thought it possible that coronavirus could have been the cause. Most of these (19.1%) simply said they had been unwell for a few days, but didn't know if they'd had the virus. 8.6% of respondents were clearer, saying they had had coronavirus symptoms, but very few of these had been diagnosed - in fact only 1.4% definitively know if they currently have or have already recovered from the virus. The other 71.2% say they have had no symptoms.
Lack of confidence in care homes
The CEO survey shows that Catalans don't trust residential care facilities to meet the medical needs of people who are sick during the coronavirus pandemic. On a low-to-high scale from 0 to 10, respondents place their confidence in nursing homes in their area at 3.71 and in homes for the elderly throughout Catalonia at 3.44.
This contrasts with their evaluation of hospitals: they have a high level of trust in hospitals in their area, at 7.20, and hospitals in Catalonia as a whole at 7.12.
Concern for coronavirus
55.6% of respondents say they are very concerned about the development and spread of Covid-19, 39.4% are quite concerned, and 4.1% are not very concerned. Only 0.6% say they are not at all concerned.
On the economic scenario arising from the coronavirus crisis, 26.9% of Catalans believe that they will have some difficulties or great difficulties in making ends meet economically. In fact, 59.6% predict that the economy will be weakened for several years and 30.5% predict that it will remain depressed for many years.