Public Sentiment and Coronavirus
From Pew:
About twice as many Americans say their greater concern is that state governments will lift restrictions on public activity too quickly (66%) as say it will not happen quickly enough (32%).
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Democrats are largely united in their concerns over state governments easing bans on public activity; 81% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say their greater concern is that governments will lift these restrictions too quickly. Yet Republicans and Republican leaners are evenly divided. About half (51%) say their bigger concern is that state governments will act too quickly while slightly fewer (46%) worry more that restrictions on public movement will not be lifted quickly enough.
Jeffrey M. Jones at Gallup:
Americans' evaluations of the economy have abruptly turned negative amid the coronavirus pandemic. Gallup's Economic Confidence Index is now -32, down from +22 in March. The 54-point drop is the largest one-month change in Gallup's trend dating back to 1992, and it comes on the heels of last month's 19-point drop, which had been one of the largest monthly declines to date. Just two months ago, economic confidence was the highest it had been in 20 years.
Lydia Saad at Gallup:
As the country endures an unprecedented shutdown of public life to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, more Americans are worried about contracting the illness (57%) than about experiencing severe financial problems from the disruption caused by it (48%).
Katherine Schaeffer at Pew:
While a plurality of Americans (43%) say the new coronavirus most likely came about naturally, nearly three-in-ten (29%) say it most likely was created in a lab, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted from March 10 to 16, 2020, as part of the Center’s nearly yearlong Election News Pathways project. Around a quarter of adults (23%) say it is most likely that the current strain of coronavirus was developed intentionally in a lab; another 6% say it was most likely made accidentally in a lab. A quarter say they aren’t sure where the virus originated.
Monica Anderson and Brooke Auxier at Pew:
Six-in-ten Americans say that if the government tracked people’s locations through their cellphone it would not make much of a difference in limiting the spread of the virus, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted April 7-12, 2020. Smaller shares of Americans – about four-in-ten – believe this type of monitoring would help a lot (16%) or a little (22%) in limiting the spread of COVID-19.
Justin McCarthy at Gallup:
Americans increasingly say they feel less connected to family and friends as most of the country is under stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic. More than a third of U.S. adults (37%) say they have felt less connected to family and friends in the past week -- an eight-point increase from the 29% Gallup found in late March.
