A sign overhead on a highway reminds motorists to “Stay at home, limit travel, conserve lives” in Monroe, Wash.|Elaine Thompson/AP Picture
Almost 60 percent of American voters are fretted that raising constraints prematurely will cause a spike in coronavirus cases and deaths.
According to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll launched Sunday, 58 percent of registered citizens expressed concern about a loosening of restrictions, as compared to 32 percent who fretted that the constraints would remain in place for too long. Three percent said they were worried about both circumstances.
There were partisan divides on the topic, some of which have been reflected in recent protests around the nation in locations like Ohio and Michigan. While a clear majority of Democrats (77 percent) and independents (57 percent) are more anxious about the coronavirus, Republicans are very much divided on the issue– with 48 percent revealing more concern about the economy and 39 percent more concerned about the pandemic. Different states, of course, have different constraints, some much more stringent than others.
The poll also showed increased concern that the coronavirus would have a direct individual impact: 33 percent said they were “extremely worried” that the coronavirus would strike somebody within their own family, while an extra 40 percent said they were “somewhat anxious.” Those numbers are up from 15 percent and 38 percent, respectively, in a poll released March20
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A simple 3 percent stated the pandemic had not any impact on their lives, compared to 77 percent who said it had actually affected them either in “an extremely significant way” or “a relatively major method.”
President Donald Trump’s approval rating was 46 percent, with 51 percent saying they the task he’s doing. Those numbers are the same from last month’s survey and consistent with his numbers in the NBC/WSJ polls this year.
The president’s numbers lagged in another essential area: Those surveyed said they prefer presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden over Trump by a margin of 49-42 And 45 percent of those polled stated they believed that Trump has not managed the pandemic crisis well– and is still not doing so.
Those surveyed also revealed minimal rely on what the president has needed to state about the ongoing health crisis, particularly in relation to other authorities.
More than two-thirds of those polled (69 percent) said they relied on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to supply accurate details about the coronavirus, followed by their state’s governor (66%), Dr. Anthony Fauci (60%), New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (46%), Trump (36%), Vice President Mike Pence (35%) and Biden (26%).
A total of 52 percent stated they distrusted what Trump has to say on the topic, followed by Pence (37%) and Biden (29%). A mere 8 percent said they did not trust Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergic Reaction and Infectious Diseases.
The poll was conducted April 13-15 of 900 registered voters, and it has a total margin of error of plus-minus 3.3 percentage points.
