  We present a study on the development of Finnish first-year physics majors'
attitudes towards physics, as measured by the Colorado Learning Attitudes about
Science Survey, before, during and after the period of mandatory remote
learning due to the coronavirus pandemic. We find that in the years before the
pandemic, these attitudes did not change, but the period of extended remote
learning due to the pandemic had a negative effect on the students' expert-like
views. Similarly, the students who experienced the remote learning period in
high school displayed a lower level of expert-like thinking as they entered
university. As contact teaching resumed, moderate positive gains were seen,
bridging some but not all of the gap in student attitudes left by the pandemic.
