SINGAPORE - How have Singaporeans' attitudes towards living with the coronavirus changed over the past four months?

This is what a new study from the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) aims to find out.

Researchers used data from online surveys conducted over 12 phases, or "waves", from mid-July to end-November. Each wave collected responses from more than 500 residents aged 21 years and older.

The study builds on the findings of an earlier IPS study conducted between April 2020 and March this year.

The Straits Times looks at several trends.

1. Living with Covid-19

Older people aged 40 and above tended to express more negative emotions - anger, anxiety or sadness - when asked about treating Covid-19 as an endemic disease.

Overall, people's attitudes towards this strategy changed over time, with the number of people expressing negative sentiments peaking in early October, when Singapore had to tighten measures in order to prevent the healthcare system from becoming overwhelmed.

2. Vaccination

Seven in 10 people felt that vaccination should be made compulsory for all Singapore residents, while nine in 10 agreed that annual booster shots were important to reduce the risk of infection.

3. Satisfaction with the Government

Overall satisfaction levels started at around 77 per cent in July but fell sharply as cases climbed, and hit a low of 59 per cent when the Government announced stricter stabilisation measures. They subsequently climbed back up to 64 per cent in mid-November, when Singapore eased its restrictions.

4. Vaccination-differentiated measures

Older people tended to feel more negatively about differentiated measures for unvaccinated people. Researchers surmised that this was because older people make up a "sizeable proportion" of those who refuse to get vaccinated for non-medical reasons

Most people said they were happy, reassured or pleasantly surprised by such measures.

5. Dining out

People were generally uneasy with dining out, with at most 50 per cent of participants saying they were confident of doing so at any point during the four-month survey.

Those from the lowest income bracket were the least confident of dining out.

6. Attending large live events

Some 53 per cent of study participants started out saying they would not be comfortable attending large events. This went up to 68 per cent after Singapore extended its Covid-19 measures by an additional month as cases continued to rise.

Again, those from the lowest income brackets were least confident of attending such large events.