Governors take fire, but poll shows support
Nearly 3 in 4 Americans back state leaders’ actions
Governors across the nation have faced armed protesters and death threats as they have struggled with how to begin easing coronavirus restrictions on residents and businesses without creating new outbreaks of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, new polling indicated that Americans overwhelmingly approve of how the nation’s governors are handling the coronavirus outbreak, particularly those who have been the most cautious.
Despite pressure from protesters and the business community to reopen the economy, nearly three-quarters of Americans approved of their governors’ performance, according to a poll released Tuesday by The Washington Post and Ipsos.
Governors who acted swiftly to shut down their states in the face of the pandemic and have been cautious about reopening received the highest marks from their constituents — Republican Mike DeWine of Ohio with 86%, and Democrats Andrew Cuomo of New York with 81% and Gavin Newsom of California with 79%.
The governors of Florida and Texas, who are opening up their states in more rapid phases, fared worse but still got high marks from more than half of respondents from their states.
Throughout the coronavirus crisis, many state leaders have implored federal officials for assistance, including ventilators, personal protective equipment and hospital beds. They continue to ask for a federal testing plan and supplies.
Effective and widespread testing and contact tracing are considered essential for safely reopening economies and continue to lag as state leaders decide what restrictions to lift on individuals and businesses. More than 82,000 people in the U.S. have been confirmed as dying of COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Although the president has claimed that coronavirus infections are declining across the nation, infection rates appear to be increasing in nine states and Washington, D.C., NBC News reported based on an internal Department of Homeland Security analysis it obtained. The May 7 analysis named an additional nine states and Puerto Rico as locations to watch.
Thousands are catching the infection in workplaces, according to an Associated Press analysis. The 15 counties across the nation with the highest per capita infection rates between April 28 and May 5 are home to meat and poultry processing plants or prisons, the AP found.
Additionally, scientists are monitoring a new way the virus is affecting children — a development that could have repercussions on whether schools reopen in fall.
Children in more than a dozen states have been diagnosed with a coronavirus infection leading to a toxic-shock-like response in their bodies, resulting in the inflammation of blood vessels and heart problems.
In New York, three children have died and about 100 have been diagnosed.
“It’s no time to get cocky, no time to get arrogant. This virus has deceived us every step of the way,” Cuomo said in his daily briefing. “We have been behind this virus from the very beginning. And it still surprises us. We thought initially that it didn’t affect children; we’re now dealing with an issue that’s very disturbing.”