Return to normal? Most aren’t hopeful it will happen by July, US coronavirus poll finds
As states grapple with the possibility of lifting coronavirus restrictions, most Americans in a new poll don’t expect their lives to return to normal in a couple of months.
About 69% of people who say their routines have changed due to COVID-19 think they won’t go back to their normal schedules by July 1, according to findings released Friday from ABC News and Ipsos.
That’s a jump from two weeks ago, when 56% of people with upended routines believed they would see a sense of normalcy after July kicks off, results show.
But as in previous polls about the coronavirus, answers were split along party lines.
Another question reveals a large partisan divide on getting life back on track by June 1.
“The June 1 date sharply divides partisans with 51% of Republicans and only 17% of Democrats thinking they will resume normal activities by then,” ABC News reported.
Among all Americans, there’s also less confidence that normal routines will return by the end of the summer — with 75% thinking so now, compared to 84% at the beginning of this month, according to the poll.
Earlier this week, another poll found a majority of U.S. residents would wait to jump into their regular routines if coronavirus-related orders were lifted, McClatchy News reported.
Lifting restrictions
The latest results come on the heels of another survey that found almost three-quarters of U.S. residents think the country still hasn’t seen the toughest moments in the coronavirus outbreak.
Seventy-three percent “say the worst is still to come, compared with 26% who say the worst is behind us,” Pew Research Center findings show.
In the Pew survey, 66% of people say they are most worried that restrictions to help stop the spread of the coronavirus will be lifted too quickly. Another 32% don’t think they will be gone soon enough, the poll findings released Thursday show.
Again, those answers vary along party lines, with more Republicans than Democrats concerned the restrictions will stay around too long, according to the Pew Research Center.
Across the country, groups have called on governors to ease stay-at-home orders and open the economy back up.
A surge of people have filed for unemployment as restaurants, salons and other businesses have closed or adjusted their services.
Some officials have said the restrictions are helping to save people’s lives.
ABC News says its poll was conducted from April 15 to April 16, just days after President Donald Trump reversed his original claims about his power to lift restrictions. He has since said those decisions are in the hands of state governors.
The poll surveyed a “nationally representative” panel of 514 adults, with a margin of error of 5.3 percent, results show.
To get its responses, the Pew Research Center relied on 4,917 online panelists. They answered questions from April 7 to April 12, and the survey’s margin of error was 2.1.
The surveys also covered questions about Trump’s response to the coronavirus.
This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Return to normal? Most aren’t hopeful it will happen by July, US coronavirus poll finds."
