DFP Coronavirus Response Tracking Poll Week 8

Brian Schaffner Tufts University

Summary

It has now been about three months since the U.S. began fully grappling with the Coronavirus outbreak, and we are beginning to see a decline in public concern about coronavirus. For the first time since we launched the Data for Progress tracking poll, the percentage of Americans who say they are very concerned about Coronavirus is below 50 percent, specifically, sitting 47 percent. This is down 12-percentage-points from the level of concern registered by Americans interviewed in April. This week, just one-in-four Americans say that they are very worried about personally experiencing coronavirus, down 11-points from April.

As concern about Coronavirus wanes, Americans are reducing their social distancing behaviors. This week, Americans were more likely to report that they have socialized in person with friends and family at their homes, though they are no more likely to report socializing in public places. And the percentage of Americans who said that they avoided physical contact with people during the past two weeks dropped to 68 percent, down 9-points from three weeks ago and down 13-points from April.

Americans’ priorities also appear to be shifting somewhat more towards dealing with the economic consequences of the pandemic. When asked, a majority of Americans (53 percent) now say they are more worried about the impact of coronavirus on the economy as a whole rather than the impact on people’s health (47 percent). In April, those numbers were reversed, with people expressing more concern over the impact on people’s health.

Though it languishes without a vote in the Senate, support for the HEROES Act remains high. 45 percent of Americans strongly support the legislation and another 30 percent say that they somewhat support it. Just 7 percent of Americans strongly oppose the HEROES Act. The HEROES Act remains almost as popular as the CARES Act, which 79 percent of Americans continue to support. In terms of what provisions Americans would like to see if there is a new Coronavirus relief package, most items continue to enjoy majority support. However, support for more funding for testing and tracing has dropped 8 points in the past month, from 79 percent to 71 percent. The most controversial potential provision are measures that would allow for more absentee voting – half of the public supports this proposal. Views on increasing access to absentee voting are strongly divided along party lines; while two-thirds of Democrats support such reforms, only about one-in-three Republicans do the same.

Americans’ views on what the government should be prioritizing are also beginning to shift. When asked what the government’s Coronavirus response should focus on, 38 percent of Americans now choose “investments in new infrastructure to get Americans back to work” rather than “relief in the form of assistance to workers and small business.” The support for infrastructure investment is up 12 points since April, when only one-in-four Americans supported that approach.

Finally, a majority of Americans (54 percent) disapprove of Trump’s handling of coronavirus while just 41 percent approve. By comparison, a similar percentage of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of the crisis, but just 44 percent disapprove. Three-fourths of Americans continue to approve of how the CDC has handled the crisis.

Approval on handling of coronavirus pandemic

The graph below shows the percent who strongly or somewhat approve of how Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or the CDC are handling the coronavirus pandemic. Respondents who responded “not sure” were excluded from the analysis.

Question wording: “For each person or group, say whether you approve or disapprove of the way they are handling the coronavirus pandemic:”

Which level of government do you trust more to handle the Coronavirus pandemic: The [R’s state] state government or the federal government?

Changes in job status

Here we track responses to a question asking respondents how their work has changed since March 1st of this year. Only respondents who are in the work force are included in the chart below.

Since March 1st of this year, has your work changed? Yes, my hours have been reduced. Yes, I lost my job.

Social Distancing

Question wording: Which of the following best describes your current behavior?

I am continuing to socialize in public places

I am continuing to socialize in public places, but slightly less than before

I am not going to public places, but I am socializing with friends or family in my or their homes

I am not going to public places, but I am socializing with friends or family virtually I am not going to public places nor am I socializing with family or friends

Government response to Coronavirus

In this section, we show how Americans are evaluating what the government has done to address the Coronavirus pandemic and how much they still want the government to do.

Question wording: Based on what you have heard, do you support the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” or CARES Act?

Question wording: Congress is now considering the HEROES Act, which would spend an additional $3 trillion, including $1 trillion for state and local governments and hospitals, $200 billion in hazard pay for essential workers, and would give households a additional stimulus payments ranging from $1,200 to $6,000. Do you support or oppose this legislation?

Question wording: Have you received a check or direct deposit as part of the federal government’s stimulus bill (the CARES Act)?

The recent stimulus package (CARES Act) mandated the distribution of financial support for individuals and small businesses. Do you think the government has distributed this financial support…?

Question wording: Do you think the government should spend more money to address the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impacts, or do you think the government has already spent enough?

Question wording: Which comes closer to your view?

The government needs to spend more to address the coronavirus pandemic, even if it means increasing the national debt and deficit

The government has spent enough to address the coronavirus pandemic and should not do anything else to increase the national debt and deficit

The government has spent too much to address the coronavirus pandemic and should cut spending to reduce the national debt and deficit

Question wording: Would you support or oppose the following provisions in a future legislative package to address the coronavirus pandemic:

General scope of government

Here we track Americans' views on the scope of government.

Question 1 wording: Some people think the government should provide fewer services even in areas such as health and education in order to reduce spending. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale. Other people feel it is important for the government to provide many more services even if it means an increase in spending. Suppose these people are at the other end. Where would you place yourself on this scale? 1=Provide fewer services. 7=Provide many more services.

Question 2 wording: Some people feel the government in Washington should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of living. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale. Others think the government should just let each person get ahead on their own. Suppose these people are at the other end. Where would you place yourself on this scale? 1=Govt should let each person get ahead on own. 7=Govt should see to jobs and standard of living.

Question wording: Do you think that the government response right now should mostly be focused on: Relief in the form of assistance to workers and small business OR Investments in new infrastructure to get Americans back to work.

Question wording: Would some form of socialism be a good thing or a bad thing for the country as a whole? (Remaining respondents selected “no opinion”)

Methodology

The Data for Progress coronavirus tracking poll is fielded each week using respondents recruited via Lucid. Post-stratification weights are implemented to make each week’s sample nationally representative of American adults by gender, age, region, education, race, and the interaction of education and race. The margin of error for each week’s survey is approximately ± 4 percentage points (this is a conservative estimate and will vary slightly depending on the exact sample size and design effect each week).

Full Toplines and Crosstabs

A document showing toplines by survey wave for each question can be found here.

Crosstabs for each week’s poll can be found at the links below:

The raw data for the tracking poll can be found here.