Coronavirus

Poll: Brazilians support penalties for breaching quarantine

quarantine punishment

Seventy-nine percent of Brazilians approve imposing some sort of penalty for people who do not comply with quarantine measures during the Covid-19 outbreak, according to pollster Datafolha. Despite the vast support for punishment, only 3 percent see jail time as a viable option. Verbal reprimands — approved by 43 percent — and fines — 33 percent — are the preferred forms of punishment.

The poll also measured the level of adherence to the quarantine measures. The number of Brazilians who only leave home to work has risen to 26 from 24 percent in the space of a month, and fewer people say they only leave home when it is “unavoidable” — down to 50 from 54 percent since March. Meanwhile, over one-fifth of Brazilians are fully embracing quarantine, rising 3 percent since the last poll.

Despite several protests against social isolation measures in Brazil, the number of people who worry about Covid-19 is also on the rise. The poll found that now half of Brazilians see it as a threat, in comparison to 44 percent in March.