Where Europeans Found Lockdowns Most Difficult

A new Eurobarometer survey shows where Europeans struggled the most with lockdowns. Since the Covid-19 pandemic erupted, authorities across the EU implemented restrictions varying in severity, ranging from national lockdowns to local lockdowns and curfews. Across much of the continent, restaurants, pubs and cinemas have remained shuttered for months, challenging residents' mental and physical health.

After six months of lockdown, Greece finally reopened restaurant and cafe terraces on Monday with locals flocking to soak up some sunshine. According to Eurobarometer, a quarter of Greeks said that the country's lockdown has been very difficult to cope with, even endangering mental and physical health. That is the highest share in Eurobarometer's polling with Portugal and Slovenia following with 21 and 20 percent, respectively.

Ireland's response to Covid-19 involved closing the country's restaurants and pubs while imposing a radius of just five kilometers for residents to travel. Unsurprisingly, those measures have been difficult for the Irish and they had the joint-fourth highest share of people stating that the lockdown has been very difficult, along with Austria.