How Social Capital Helps Communities Weather the COVID-19 Storm


TORONTO, Monday, March 30, 2020 – In the United States, those states that are responding more quickly and effectively to the COVID-19 crisis also seem to have higher levels of social capital built up and citizens who trust more in their governments and health agencies, according to new research published today by York University Assistant Professor of sociology Cary Wu and team.

Do Canadians see COVID-19 as a risk? And how are they adapting their behaviours as a result? We’ve just released the first round of results from our national survey on #COVID19


Cary Wu Joined Social Impacts Network COVID-19 – Expert Advisory Committee

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‘If people do not trust, it’s very difficult to promote collective action’

TORONTO, March 6, 2020 (UPDATED) – Three York University researchers will receive more than $1.1 million in COVID-19 rapid research funding over two years to explore issues of trust, stigmatization and social perceptions of risk, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announced today.
Cary’s research will bring frontline researchers from China together with experts in trust and public health in Canada and Sweden to explore people’s trust in government, health agencies, and in other people and groups during a time of crisis. He will look at how their level of trust shapes public responses to COVID-19, such as compliance with control policies and methods of prevention, but also, how disease outbreaks affect those levels of trust and can lead to a rise in xenophobia.
