'Fear factor' over COVID is 'out of hand'

The Menzies Research Centre’s Nick Cater says the “fear factor” over COVID-19 is “out of hand” after a poll revealed people believe on average there is a 38 per cent chance of dying from the Delta strain.
Mr Cater said it was clear to him the fear around the virus was “way out of proportion for the actual threat” but the figures are surprising.
“I had no idea until I saw this polling conducted this week that it was that high … that people actually think there’s a 38 per cent chance of them dying from the Delta variant,” he said.
He said a main cause of the fear is the government’s actions which causes unnecessary panic in the public.
“It’s natural that people are fearful, but I think their fear is only exaggerated when governments do really exaggerated things … like locking down for one case in South Australia.
“Of course people are going to start thinking this thing’s dangerous.”