Official Statistics

Community and Engagement Survey 2025/26 - COVID-19 Day of Reflection: report

Updated 14 August 2026

Applies to England

This report summarises the key findings for the ‘COVID-19 Day of Reflection’ major event in the Community and Engagement Survey (CES) for 2025/26.^{[footnote 1]} Reports for other sections within the CES are available on the annual web page. 

The CES asked about the respondents’ awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection and intentions to participate in related activities.

The CES is representative of people aged 16 and over in England. For simplicity, we will sometimes refer just to “people” in our reporting.

For information on how to use and interpret these statistics see the note available on the supplementary documents page.^{[footnote 2]}

1. Key findings

1.1 Headline

8% of people aged 16+ in England were aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection.

By ITL2 area, there was a 5 percentage point difference in the proportion of people who were aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection, from 11% in Norfolk to 5% in Inner London - West. 

Of those aware of the event, 13% of people participated in the COVID-19 Day of Reflection major event.

1.2 Forms of participation

As shown in Figure 1, 8% of people in England were aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection. Of those aware, 13% of people participated in the COVID-19 Day of Reflection major event. Of these respondents, the most popular ways of participating were following coverage on TV or radio (includes watching the event or news about the event) (63%) and following on social media (33%).

Figure 1: Forms of Participation in COVID-19 Day of Reflection, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over who were aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection)

2. Demographics: Who was aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection

Demographic questions in the survey are voluntary and self-reported by the respondent.

2.1 Age

As shown in Figure 2, people aged 60 to 64 (12%), 65 to 69 (12%), 70 to 74 (12%), 75 to 79 (14%) and 80 to 84 (14%) were more likely to be aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection compared with the average for people in England (8%). People aged 20 to 24 (5%), 25 to 29 (5%), 30 to 34 (6%), 35 to 39 (4%) and 40 to 44 (6%) were less likely to be aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection compared with the average for people in England (8%). 

Figure 2: Awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection, by age, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.2 Disability status

As shown in Figure 3, disabled people (10%) were more likely to be aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection than non-disabled people (8%). 

Figure 3: Awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection, by disability status, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.3 Sex^{[footnote 3]}

As shown in Figure 4, females (10%) were more likely to be aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection than males (7%). 

Figure 4: Awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection, by sex, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.4 Gender identity^{[footnote 4]}

As shown in Figure 5, there were no significant differences observed between the proportion of people whose gender identity was the same as their sex registered at birth (8%) and people whose gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth (8%) who were aware of the COVID-19 Day of Reflection.

Figure 5: Awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection, by gender identity, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.5 Sexual orientation^{[footnote 5]}

As shown in Figure 6, heterosexual or straight people (9%) were more likely to be aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection than bisexual people (6%). 

Figure 6: Awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection, by sexual orientation, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.6 Religion

As shown in Figure 7, compared with the average for people in England (8%), Christian people (11%) were more likely to be aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection. Buddhist people (2%) and people who reported having no religion (6%) were less likely to be aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection compared with the average for people in England (8%). 

Figure 7: Awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection, by religion, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.7 Ethnicity

As shown in Figure 8, people from the Chinese (3%) and Any Other White background (5%) ethnic groups were less likely to be aware of the COVID-19 Day of Reflection compared to the England average (8%). 

Figure 8: Awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection, by ethnicity, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.8 Socio-economic classification^{[footnote 6]}

As shown in Figure 9, there were no significant differences observed between the proportion of people across different socio-economic classifications who were aware of the COVID-19 Day of Reflection.

Figure 9: Awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection, by socio-economic classification, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.9 Index of multiple deprivation^{[footnote 7]}

As shown in Figure 10, there were no significant differences observed between the proportion of people from the most deprived areas and people from the least deprived areas who were aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection.

Figure 10: Awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection, by Index of Multiple Deprivation, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

3. Awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection by ITL1 and ITL2 area

3.1 Regional differences^{[footnote 8]}

As shown in Figure 11, there were no significant differences observed between the proportion of people living in each of the ITL1 areas and the England average in awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection. 

3.2 ITL2 area differences

By ITL2 area, there was a 5 percentage point difference in the proportion of people who were aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection, from 11% in Norfolk to 5% in Inner London - West. 

The proportion of people who were aware of COVID-19 Day of Reflection was in line with the England average in 35 ITL2 areas, with 1 ITL2 area being lower than the England average (Inner London - West, 5%).

Figure 11: Awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection, by ITL1 and ITL2 area, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

1. The major events estimates are based on data collection from April 2025 to March 2026 through the Participation Survey (April to September 2025) and the Community and Engagement Survey (October 2025 - March 2026).  ↩

2. The majority of estimates in this report are rounded to the nearest whole number. As data are rounded, some changes may appear bigger or smaller than they are. The unrounded numbers are available in the corresponding data tables. ↩

3. This data is based on the respondent’s sex. The Community and Engagement Survey respondents were asked the question “What is your sex?”. The response options were ‘Male’, ‘Female’ and ‘Prefer not to Say’. This closely follows the ONS Census 2021 question for sex, where the target concept was certificated sex meaning a person’s sex at birth or as modified by a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), but has been slightly amended to include a ‘Prefer not to Say’ option as we do for all demographic questions in the Community and Engagement Survey. ↩

4. This data is based on the respondent’s gender identity. The Community and Engagement Survey respondents were asked the question ‘Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?. The response options were ‘Yes’, ‘No, type in gender identity’ or ‘Prefer not to say’. This closely follows the ONS Census 2021 question for England and Wales, but has been slightly amended to include a ‘Prefer not to Say’ option as we do for all demographic questions in the Community and Engagement Survey. It should be noted that in the Census 2021 data for England and Wales, patterns were identified that suggest that some respondents may not have interpreted the question as intended, notably those with lower levels of English language proficiency. Analysis of Scotland’s Census 2022, where the gender identity question was different, has added weight to this observation. More information can be found in the ONS sexual orientation and gender identity quality information report and the additional guidance and quality information for users of gender identity estimates from Census 2021 in England and Wales. Similar respondent error may have occurred during the data collection for these statistics so comparisons between subnational and other smaller group breakdowns should be considered with caution. ↩

5. Sexual orientation is an umbrella term covering sexual identity, attraction, and behaviour. For an individual respondent, these may not be the same. For example, someone in an opposite-sex relationship may also experience same-sex attraction, and vice versa. This means the statistics should be interpreted purely as showing how people responded to the question, rather than being about whom they are attracted to or their actual relationships. ↩

6. This is a form of socio-economic classification based on the employment status and occupation of the respondent. ↩

7. The Index of Multiple Deprivation is a geographical measure which classifies the relative deprivation of an area. It combines seven indices to produce one overall measure for the area (rather than the individual). It takes into account income, employment, education, skills and training, health and disability, crime, barriers to housing and services, and living environment. For this commentary, the most and least deprived deciles have been compared. There may be some other significant differences between deciles in between which have not been commented on here. The analysis of the index of Multiple Deprivation was conducted using the 2025 Index of Multiple Deprivation. ↩

8. The question on awareness of COVID-19 Day of Reflection was not asked to all respondents. This means that data is not available at LA level. Data is however available by ITL2 area level (summary commentary provided in this report) and by combined authority level in the corresponding data table. ↩