More than half of Australians are concerned about new COVID-19 variant, FLiRT

COVID-19 has been a part of daily life for over four years and, with the winter season rolling in, another variation of the disease has been identified.

This new strain, dubbed “FLiRT”, has swept across the globe, including Australia.

However, despite 50% of Australians either having contracted, or knowing someone who has contracted COVID-19 in the past six months, only 26% of the nation are familiar with this new strain.

Millennials are the most aware of the variant, with 35% indicating they are familiar with FLiRT.

Gen Z are the second most familiar, at 28%, followed by Gen X at 23% and 21% of Baby Boomers.

When asked how concerned or unconcerned Australians are about this new strain, over half (53%) of the nation said they were concerned about contracting FLiRT. Comparatively, 47% said they were not concerned.

Again, Millennials were the most concerned with 59% of the generation expressing wariness.

In amidst the surge of COVID-19 infections, 81% of people said they would take some sort of precaution. 65% would maintain hygiene (e.g. washing hands regularly, and using hand sanitiser), 46% would avoid crowded areas, and 42% would socially distance.

30% of Australians would wear masks in public, 29% would avoid public transport, and 11% would work from home.

19% of Aussies said that they didn’t feel the need to take any precautions.

Isolating while infected with COVID-19 was commonplace in the past few years, but the laws no longer require someone to stay home if they test positive.

Despite this, 30% of people said they would still isolate/stay home from work if they tested positive for COVID with visible symptoms. 34% would isolate if they tested positive, even if they had no symptoms.

The most common location Australians would voluntarily isolate from, however, is the homes of friends and family. 38% would stay away from these locations if they tested positive and had visible symptoms, however almost half of the nation (46%), would stay home if they tested positive, even if they had no symptoms at all.

Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online between 27 May and 30 May 2024, with a national sample of 1,023 Australians, using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by age, gender, and location to be representative of all adults in Australia (18 years or older) as per the latest population estimates provided by the ABS. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.