Nearly HALF of Britons expect coronavirus crisis to last at least six months

Nearly half of Britons expected the coronavirus crisis to last at least six months – and some 73 per cent blame China for the global turmoil, a poll has found.

Research suggests the public is braced for a long haul to defeat the killer disease, which has now claimed hundreds of lives and brought UK plc grinding to a halt.

The finding contrasts with Boris Johnson’s claim that the country can ‘turn the tide’ on the outbreak within 12 weeks. 

Despite mounting fears over a huge hit to GDP and looming austerity, people’s priorities still seem to be very much the public health implications. Some 73 per cent say that is what worries them most rather than the economy. 

There is also evidence of a backlash against China, where the virus first emerged, and which has been repeatedly attacked by Donald Trump.  

Nearly three-quarters of those questioned said Beijing was either ‘significantly’ of ‘somewhat’ to blame for the spiralling situation. 

The findings emerged in polling carried out by Redfield and Wilton Strategies as part of research into global health and governance, and given to MailOnline. 

The firm, which is a member of the respected British Polling Council, surveyed 1,500 British adults online just before the PM’s dramatic speech earlier this week, which put the country into lockdown. The results were weighted to represent the wider population.  

Just four per cent think the coronavirus issue will be resolved within weeks, with 13 per cent estimating two months, and 23 per cent saying three.

The bulk of those questioned – a quarter – expect the crisis to drag on six months, and 18 per cent believe it will last a year or more.

There was also widespread agreement that things are going to ‘get worse’ over the coming weeks, with 73 per cent making the prediction. 

Even before the lockdown, a third of those surveyed were saying they were ‘very worried’ about the virus and a fifth were ‘expecting the worst’. 

Some 39 per cent said China was ‘significantly to blame’ for the crisis, with 34 per cent saying the country was ‘somewhat to blame’. 

Boris Johnson was seen as having handled the turmoil fairly well, with 54 per cent approving ‘strongly’ or ‘somewhat’ of his performance. 

But nearly a fifth were ambivalent about the PM, and 24 per cent disapproved.

Half said the government had done enough to convey the scale of the threat to the public, but 36 per cent warned that the response had fostered ‘complacent’. 

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced an unprecedented scheme of guarantees for the bulk of workers’ income to avoid millions being plunged into poverty.

And more than half of those polled – 54 per cent – said they supported the principle of a Universal Basic Income being introduced after the crisis.

That would potentially mean everyone in the country being handed enough money to cover their basic living costs, regardless of their other income.