New Polls Say Majority Of Americans Worry About Reopening Country Too Soon
As President Donald Trump promises to open up the country in a timely manner, the majority of Americans don’t believe we are ready, according to new polls
The majority of Americans have been in lock-down mode for over a month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in an attempt to slow the spread and flatten the curve of the highly infectious and deadly virus. This week President Donald Trump announced his plans to reopen the country, and while some celebrated or protested against their state government for refusing to lift restrictions, according to recent polls the majority of the country is concerned that restrictions are being relaxed way too soon.
According to a Pew Research Center poll, conducted April 7-12 with 4,917 U.S. adult respondents from its American Trends Panel, 66 percent of respondents expressed concern that states will reopen public activity too quickly, with just 32 percent concerned they won’t reopen quickly enough. When broken down by political parties, the numbers differentiate a bit, but overall, the majority of people are concerned. While 81 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents in the poll were concerned about reopening too early, 51 percent of Republicans also shared the concern. However, 48 percent of Republicans are concerned the restrictions will not be lifted early enough.
A separate poll conducted by NBC News/Wall Street Journal of 900 registered voters conducted April 13-15, found similar results. According to that survey, 60 percent of American voters claim to be more concerned that relaxing stay-at-home restrictions will lead to more COVID-19 deaths than they are that those restrictions will hurt the U.S. economy.
Those who hope to reopen the economy sooner rather than later have been demonstrating their opinion by holding protests across the country. Despite shelter-in-place orders, demonstrators have been swarming state capital buildings in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota, and North Carolina, demanding the re-opening of their state’s businesses, schools, and restaurants. Many are carrying firearms and holding signs likening their governors to Hitler.
“A small segment of the state is protesting and that’s their right,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told CNN. People are getting “stir crazy” at home, she said, and many are understandably worried about paying their bills and feeding their families. “The sad part is, though, that the more they’re out and about, the more likely they are to spread Covid-19,” Whitmer said, “and the more likely we’re going to have to take this posture for a longer period of time.”
President Trump made it clear he supported the protestors, taking to Twitter to urge people in states like Michigan, Minnesota, and Virginia to “liberate” by protesting the stay-at-home orders they have in place.
Information about COVID-19 is rapidly changing, and Scary Mommy is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. With news being updated so frequently, some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For this reason, we are encouraging readers to use online resources from local public health departments, the Centers for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization to remain as informed as possible.
