Americans overwhelmingly recognize the danger. Over three-fourths of Americans — including nearly two-thirds of Republicans and about 90 percent of Democrats — said they believe the coronavirus outbreak in their state is a “serious problem.”
But two months into a startling economic collapse that’s left about 39 million Americans filing for unemployment, many of those hit hardest by closures are ready to begin recovery. Six in 10 owners or managers of small- or medium-sized businesses said nonessential businesses should reopen. Also in agreement were 52 percent of households where someone lost a job or went on forced unpaid leave, compared to 41 percent of those who haven’t lost income.
“They’re basically saying they think the economic risk outweighs the health risk,” said Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. “I don’t think they’re being callous about the health risk. I think they’re making a judgment around how they value risk.”
Still, most areas of the country supported keeping nonessential businesses closed, except for the Midwest. The region has seen much higher rates of new unemployment claims in some spots, including in the election battleground state Michigan, which Trump visited Thursday.
Over three-quarters of those surveyed said they approved of how their governor was handling the pandemic, but about one-third still reported concerns over issues that have dogged the coronavirus response from the start: availability of tests and face masks. African Americans, who’ve died at alarmingly higher rates than other groups, were likelier to say their governor hasn’t done enough to protect against infection or help those struggling financially.
“There’s just the sense that because it’s so prevalent there’s not enough that’s being done,” Blendon said.
The poll surveyed 1,007 adults between May 5-10. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for the full sample.
