More than 75% of Americans support the government enforcing social distancing measures for another two weeks to help prevent the spread of the novel
The poll, featuring 1,099 participants suggests that protests in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin calling for nonessential businesses in their states to be reopened represent just a small fraction of Americans, and more often than not, people want to be safe before restrictions are lifted.
The poll was conducted on April 28-29, more than a month after bars, gyms, and schools were shuttered, and people were told to stand six feet apart to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 — and it shows that the country largely believes Americans should continue to social distance.
Of the responders, 50% said they strongly supported enforced social distancing measures being carried out for at least two more weeks, and another 25% of responders said they would support those measures. About 14% of responders had no opinion, while just 11% were against continuing social distancing measures — 6% saying they opposed them, and 4% saying they strongly opposed them.
More than 1.06 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the United States, and 60,823 people have died from the virus.
Some states have started to lift their stay-at-home restrictions, including Texas, where Governor Greg Abbot wants to reopen businesses by Friday. Many others are on a similar track, with officials in Georgia already reopening businesses, and more states announcing plans to reopen theirs in the coming weeks.
While
Attorney General William Barr on Monday that the Justice Department would intervene if stay-at-home orders were too restrictive.
"These kinds of restrictions have been necessary in order to stop the spread of a deadly disease — but there is no denying that they have imposed tremendous burdens on the daily lives of all Americans," Barr said in a memo. "If a state or local ordinance crosses the line from an appropriate exercise of authority to stop the spread of COVID-19 into an overbearing infringement of constitutional and statutory protections, the Department of Justice may have an obligation to address that overreach in federal court."
SurveyMonkey Audience polls from a national sample balanced by census data of age and gender. Respondents are incentivized to complete surveys through charitable contributions. Generally speaking, digital polling tends to skew toward people with access to the internet. SurveyMonkey Audience doesn't try to weigh its sample based on race or income. A total of 1,099 respondents were collected April 28-29, 2020, with a margin of error plus or minus 3 percentage points and a 95% confidence level.
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