A look at the numbers
Tuesday, Apr 21, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* HuffPost/YouGov poll of 1,000 people conducted April 17-19…
Just 15% said there are too many coronavirus-related restrictions in place where they live, with 53% saying restrictions are at the right level, and 23% that there are not enough restrictions.
A 78% majority said state governments that have told residents to stay at home unless they have an essential reason for going out are making the right decision by issuing such orders, with just 9% saying those states are making the wrong decision. Americans said, 60% to 24%, that they’re more concerned that states will lift the restrictions too quickly than that they will not lift the restrictions quickly enough.
* Yahoo News/YouGov poll conducted April 17-19 of 1,597 adults…
The survey, conducted April 17 to April 19, found that a full 60 percent of the public opposes the largely pro-Trump protesters whose calls for governors to “liberate” their states by lifting lockdown measures have attracted intense media attention in recent days — and whose message the president amplified Friday in a series of all-caps “LIBERATE” tweets about three swing states: Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia.
Only 22 percent of Americans say they support the protesters. Despite Trump’s messaging, even Republicans oppose the protests 47 percent to 36 percent. Asked whether they agree or disagree with Trump’s “LIBERATE” tweets, only a quarter of Americans say they agree. […]
Seventy-one percent of Americans — and 56 percent of Republicans — say they are more concerned about lifting the coronavirus restrictions too quickly than lifting them too slowly. Only 29 percent of Americans say the opposite. The same number (71 percent) say they want public health officials “to be fully able to test and trace new cases and outbreaks” before reopening; only 29 percent say they want the country to reopen “as soon as possible to prevent further economic damage.” And more than twice as many Americans say the U.S. is not conducting enough coronavirus testing to track future outbreaks of the virus (52 percent) than say it is (22 percent). […]
Two-thirds of Americans (67 percent), including 66 percent of independents and 64 percent of Republicans, say they will continue to practice social distancing even after official restrictions are lifted; just 13 percent of Americans say they will not.
* Detroit Regional Chamber poll conducted April 15-16 of 600 Michigan residents…
Michigan residents prefer how Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has handled the coronavirus outbreak over President Trump’s response to the pandemic, according to a statewide poll released Monday.
The Detroit Regional Chamber’s survey found that 57 percent of residents approved of Whitmer’s handling of the pandemic, while 44 percent said the same about Trump. Disapproval of the governor’s response stood at 37 percent, compared with 50 percent for the president’s.
Approval for both political leaders was split along party lines. For Whitmer, 89 percent of Democrats backed her handling of the virus, compared with 22 percent of Republicans supporting her. Among independent voters, 56 percent approved of the governor’s efforts during the crisis.
* Washington Post-University of Maryland poll conducted April 14-19 of 1,013 adults…
How would you rate your state governor’s overall response to the coronavirus outbreak?
How would you rate President Trump’s overall response to the coronavirus outbreak?
* Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies conducted April 13-15 of 900 registered voters…
When do you think the coronavirus will be contained in the United States, to the point that the economy can return to normal and businesses can re-open and people can go back to work?
It has already 3
In the next few weeks 15
In the next few months 45
In the next year 26
Longer than the next year 6
Never 1
Not sure 4
Which worries you more about responding to the coronavirus and restrictions that require most Americans to shelter in place and only leave their homes for essential needs?
U.S. will move too quickly in loosening restrictions 58
U.S. will take too long in loosening restrictions 32
A bit of both (VOL) 3
Not sure 7
* Pew Research Center, conducted April 7 to 12 of 4,917 adults…
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.
* Politico/Morning Consult poll taken April 10-12 of 1,990 registered voters…
More than eight in 10 voters, 81 percent, say Americans “should continue to social distance for as long as is needed to curb the spread of coronavirus, even if it means continued damage to the economy.” Only 10 percent say Americans “should stop social distancing to stimulate the economy, even if it means increasing the spread of coronavirus.” Nine percent of voters have no opinion.
While Democrats (89 percent) are more likely than Republicans (72 percent) to say Americans should continue the “social distancing” measures, large majorities in all demographic groups say it’s more important to stop the spread of the virus than to resume economic activity that could undermine those mitigation efforts. […]
By a ratio of more than 2 to 1, voters say they are more concerned about “the public health impact of coronavirus, including the spread of the disease which would cause more deaths,” than they are about “the economic impact of coronavirus including the effect on the stock market and increased unemployment.” Overall, voters break toward the public-health impact, 64 percent to 29 percent — though it’s more narrow among Republicans, 51 percent to 43 percent.
Three in four, 75 percent, say it’s more important for the government to address the spread of the virus, while 17 percent say it’s more important for the government to manage the economy.
