Nearly 95 percent of Taiwanese teenagers are willing to wear a mask in public places, a survey released by the King Car Cultural and Educational Foundation showed yesterday, as the government implements mandatory measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The nationwide survey of students from fifth to 12th grade was conducted to gauge the willingness of teenagers to cooperate with disease prevention measures, foundation executive director Joyce Tseng (曾清芸) said.
The survey found that 62.8 percent of respondents nationwide, and up to 73.4 percent of respondents in northern Taiwan, said they wore a mask wherever they went.
Photo: Rachel Lin, Taipei Times
Forty-nine percent of respondents in northern Taiwan reported increased time spent at home, followed by respondents in the central (40.2 percent), southern (38.3 percent) and eastern (37.2 percent) regions.
While the pandemic has put a strain on the economy and education, more than 70 percent of students nationwide said that it had not affected their learning, the survey showed.
As for public transport, 42.7 percent of students nationwide said they now commute less, with elementary-school students recording a 55 percent drop in public transport use.
Aided by the government’s disease prevention measures, 60.9 percent of students believed that their chances of getting infected with the coronavirus was low, but 47.2 percent were worried that family members might contract it, and 76.6 percent were concerned that it would affect family income.
The survey also found that some teenagers experienced stress and anxiety, Tseng said, advising parents to communicate more with their children.
The pandemic also had some positive impact, with 78.1 percent of respondents saying they practiced better personal hygiene, 74 percent paid more attention to their health condition and 55.4 percent followed more global topics.
It is an opportunity for parents and teachers to teach children about the importance of health and international issues, Teacher Chang Foundation executive director Tu Hsi-min (涂喜敏) said.
Adults can teach children their duties as global citizens by shedding more light on how Taiwan has shared disease prevention resources and experiences with countries in need, Tu said, adding that once children have more confidence in their country, their fears about the pandemic would be eased.
The survey, conducted at the end of last month, collected 11,205 valid questionnaires: 9,667 online questionnaires and 1,538 printed questionnaires. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
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