Post COVID-19, one-third of Israelis stressed and anxious - CBS survey

The report, “Civil resilience during the coronavirus crisis,” was the first state-run survey of its kind conducted after the lockdown was lifted.

MAY 26, 2020 17:57

An Israeli girl stands as she hold balloons at the Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem on May 13, 2020. (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90) — An Israeli girl stands as she hold balloons at the Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem on May 13, 2020.

(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

One-third of Israelis over the age of 21 are stressed and anxious as a result of the coronavirus crisis, according to a study published by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Moreover, one-quarter of parents said their children’s emotional state had deteriorated during the course of the pandemic. Twenty-six percent of people over the age of 65 described themselves as being in a negative mental state, the statistics bureau reported.

The report, “Civil resilience during the coronavirus crisis,” was the first state-run survey of its kind conducted after the lockdown was lifted.

Despite a loosening of restrictions, some 18% of the population describe themselves as lonely and 16% as depressed, the report said.

Feelings of depression were more acute among Arab-Israelis than Jews, 23% compared with 17%. Nearly one-third of Arab-Israelis (31%) assessed their mental state as negative, compared with 18% of Jews, the report said.

Regarding the economic impact of COVID-19, the statistics bureau on Monday reported that as of late April, a total of 1,141,968 Israelis, or some 27.4% of the workforce, were recorded as claiming unemployment benefits.

This study found that nearly half of Israelis (45%, or 2.5 million people) have been financially impacted by the coronavirus. Although more than one-fourth of Israelis (27%) said they expected their economic situation to improve in the next year, more than half (55%) said it would stay the same, and 18% expected it to worsen.

Fourteen percent, or 789.3 million people, said they had reduced how much food they consumed in the last week due to financial reasons.

The survey was conducted from May 11-18 among a cross section of 2,283 Israeli adults over the age of 21.