Poll: 88% of Kiwis trust Government's coronavirus response, vastly higher than other nations

New Zealand's response to the global coronavirus pandemic "outstrips" that of any other G7 nations, according to a new Colmar Brunton poll.

In a survey of over 600 people between April 3-5 commissioned by Kantar - the parent company of Colmar Brunton - New Zealanders were asked to compare New Zealand's Covid-19 response to those of Great Britain, the United States, Italy, Canada, France, Germany and Japan.

The results showed that Kiwis are in support of the Government's response to the global pandemic, with today marking two weeks since the nationwide lockdown began.

Results pointed to a huge surge in the public trust that New Zealanders have with the current Government, jumping from 53 per cent up to 83 per cent. The survey also showing 88 per cent of New Zealanders trust the Government to make the right decision around the response to Covid-19, up on the G7 average of 59 per cent.

New Zealand's results show that the Government is many Kiwis' go-to source of "reliable" information, at 31 per cent of those surveyed, again up on the G7 average result of 13 per cent.

In terms of public support for the Government's response, 84 per cent of New Zealanders surveyed approve of the handling of the pandemic, again up on the G7 average, coming in at 54 per cent. 

However, results show that New Zealand has also been hit harder in the pocket by Covid-19, with 42 per cent of those surveyed reporting impacted income. That compares to 29 per cent across the other G7 nations.

Nearly two in three New Zealanders, or 64 per cent, also believe that it will take over six months to recover from the impact of Covid-19, up on the G7 figure of 37 per cent.

Perhaps worryingly comes the figure that 27 per cent rate the behaviour of fellow Kiwis as poor, while 92 per cent of New Zealanders say that they have been doing what is being asked by the Government.

So far, there have been 1210 cases of Covid-19 among New Zealand citizens.