More Australians are worried about the longer-lasting, societal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic — specifically that the health system could be overburdened and the country could enter a recession — than they are about the more immediate changes to their own lives, a new survey of 1000 Australians reveals.

In a world where social distancing is becoming the norm and many Australians are working apart from one another, it would be reasonable to expect society to become more selfish.