Only US is judged to have dealt with it worse, after it was reported the UK has the highest death toll of any country in Europe.
The data shows that only the United States is judged by a majority of people in the UK to have fared worse.
While two weeks ago more people thought that the UK had done better than Italy and Spain, now the reverse is the case.
The ONS said 29,648 deaths had been registered in England and Wales with Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate by 2 May.
Two weeks ago, when Opinium asked people whether the UK had responded better or worse than Italy, 30% said it had done better and 22% worse.
When asked the same question between Tuesday and Thursday of last week, 29% said the UK had done worse and 25% better.
There was a similar turnaround in relation to Spain with 29% believing the UK had handled things worse and 22% better in the latest poll. »