Concerns about coronavirus highest since May: poll

Americans’ concerns about the coronavirus pandemic reached its highest level since May amid a recent surge in new cases in the U.S., according to a poll released Wednesday.

A late June Reuters/Ipsos poll found 81 percent of surveyed adults said they were “very” or “somewhat” concerned about COVID-19, the most since a similar poll was taken May 11-12.

The poll shows that concern is increasing respondents from both parties as 7 in 10 of those who identified as Republicans said they were personally concerned by the pandemic, an increase from 6 in 10 in more recent polls. About 9 in 10 Democrats have consistently reported concern over the past few weeks.  

As coronavirus cases spike nationwide, 27 percent of respondents said the “most important factor” in deciding who to vote for in the 2020 White House race is determining who has the best plan to recover from the pandemic. Twenty-one percent of those surveyed said they were most concerned about a candidate’s plan to create jobs and improve the economy.

A poll taken between June 8-9 found 26 percent wanted a candidate who would improve the economy, and 21 percent said they would vote for a candidate who would best help the country recover from the coronavirus crisis.

A total of 40 percent of those polled supported President Trump’s handling of the pandemic, while 56 percent disapproved. Forty-one percent said presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden would have managed the crisis better, while 34 percent said Trump would have handled it better than Biden. 

The Reuters/Ipsos online poll surveyed 1,099 American adults between June 29-30 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The boost in concern comes as the U.S. experiences a surge in cases, specifically in states like Arizona, Texas and Florida that were relatively quick to reopen their economies after initial shutdowns. The U.S. reached its highest one-day increase in new coronavirus cases Friday with 45,498 new cases. 

Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned in his Tuesday Senate testimony that the rate of new coronavirus cases could more than double to reach 100,000 per day unless the country made a coordinated effort to stop the surge.