70 percent back Biden’s handling of coronavirus: poll

A new poll by The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that a majority of Americans approve of President Biden’s handling of the coronavirus.

The poll shows that 70 percent of respondents back Biden’s response to the pandemic, with 97 percent of Democrats and 44 percent of Republicans approving the president’s work on the issue.

The number of COVID-19 deaths and cases per day have fallen since Biden took office, though there are some signs they are now plateauing. New variants of the disease have also sparked concerns that cases could again rise. 

Biden could also be benefiting from the distribution of vaccines across the country. Sixteen percent of the nation’s population has now had at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to statistics kept by The New York Times. Vaccinations across the country have also led to more optimism for the economy and a growing stock market.

In the poll, 60 percent overall approved of Biden’s performance as president so far. The results split along party lines, with 94 percent of Democrats approving of his work while only 22 percent of Republicans did.

Biden’s approval on the economy was split across party lines as well with 88 percent of Democrats approving and 82 percent of Republicans disapproving. Overall, 55 percent approved of Biden’s work on the economy.

The partisan divide was also apparent in polls conducted at the end of former President Trump’s term.

In December, when Trump was still president, a majority of Republicans approved of his handling of the economy while a majority of Democrats disapproved, The Associated Press reported.

Although Biden said the economy can not completely reopen because of the pandemic, many states are starting to lift their strict COVID-19 restrictions. 

Texas is lifting its mask mandate and taking away all capacity restrictions from its restaurants.

Connecticut will take away their capacity restrictions on indoor activities this month, although mask mandates and social distancing are still required. 

The poll surveyed 1,434 adults between Feb. 23 and March 1. The margin of error is 3.4 percentage points.