A commuter wears a mask and gloves at the Auber metro station in Paris. (Getty Images)

One in four Britons think the coronavirus was “probably created in a lab”, research suggests.

Scientists from King’s College London asked more than 2,000 people what they believed to be true about the somewhat mysterious strain.

A quarter (25%) of those surveyed thought the coronavirus is probably man-made, a conspiracy theory circulating the internet.

Early research suggests the infection is mild in four out of five cases, however, it can trigger a respiratory disease called COVID-19.

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The King’s scientists surveyed 2,250 people aged between 18 and 75.

Of the participants who thought the coronavirus was “probably created in a lab”, 12% admitted to meeting up with friends during the UK’s lockdown.

This is more than double the 5% of participants who socialised with loved ones, but were convinced of the strain’s natural origin.

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Boris Johnson has enforced draconian measures that only allow Britons to leave their home for “very limited purposes”, like exercising or shopping for essentials.

The prime minister, who is in intensive care with coronavirus complications, has repeatedly stressed people are not to socialise with those outside of their home.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of the King’s participants who believed the coronavirus was probably manufactured thought too much of a fuss is being made about the pandemic.

This is compared to one in 10 (10%) of those who believed the strain is natural.

Emerging at the end of last year, only the relatively small number of people worldwide who have encountered the virus are thought to have immunity against it.

The race is on to develop a vaccine that will enable herd immunity, allowing the public to safely go back to their normal routine.

The survey participants who thought a jab will be available within three months were nearly four times as likely to have met up with friends during the lockdown than those of the opinion a vaccine will take longer.

Numerous pharmaceutical companies around the world are working to develop a jab, however, scientists have been upfront one will not be ready for this outbreak.

A vaccine may become available, however, if the infection turns out to be seasonal.

“People have generally got the message about how serious the threat from the virus is and the importance of the measures being required of them,” said study author Professor Bobby Duffy.

“But at a time when the government is warning it may bring in more severe restrictions if enough people don’t follow the rules, this research shows there is a significant minority who are unclear on what some of them are, as well as many who still misjudge the scale of the threat from coronavirus or believe false claims about it.

“And this matters – how we see current realities and the future is often related to how we strictly we follow the guidelines and our attitudes to the lockdown measures”.

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