CANBERRA， Sept。 16 （Xinhua） —— A majority of Australians believed their lives have gotten worse during the coronavirus pandemic， a survey has found。
According to the survey of more than 3，000 people， which was published by the Australian National University （ANU） on Thursday， Australians felt more negative about the future than they did at the start of the pandemic。
The poll was conducted with about half of the Australian population in lockdown in the Australian Capital Territory （ACT）， New South Wales and Victoria。
“The dramatic changes in the past four months have led to declines in life satisfaction， worsening in psychological distress and an increase in loneliness across Australia，” Nicholas Biddle， the co-author of the study， said in a media release。
More than 60 percent of respondents said they were anxious or worried about coronavirus， up from 49。8 percent in April。
The number of Australians who said they were concerned about contracting COVID-19 almost tripled from 10。7 percent in April to 30。8 percent in August。
Half of the respondents said they were more stressed this year than in 2020， and over one quarter said their relationships had become more strained in 2021。
Confidence in the federal government‘s handling of the pandemic fell from 45。5 percent in April to 40。6 percent while faith in state and territory governments fell from 67。2 to 62。1 percent in the same time period。
“These lockdown blues are impacting on people’s reflections on their own lives，” co-author Matthew Gray said。
“Australians are more likely to think that their life had gotten worse， were more likely to say that they felt more negative about the future than they were in May， were more stressed， and more likely to say that their relationship had got more difficult or strained。”
The report was published as Australia recorded over 80，000 confirmed COVID-19 infections。
There were 1，881 new locally-acquired cases reported nationally on Thursday， with 514 from Victoria， 1，351 from New South Wales， 15 from the Australian Capital Territory （ACT） and one from Queensland。 Enditem
