Poll: 3 in 4 Americans back requiring wearing masks
LOS ANGELES — Three out of four Americans, including a majority of Republicans, favor requiring people to wear face coverings while outside their homes, a new poll finds, reflecting fresh alarm over spiking coronavirus cases and a growing embrace of government advice intended to safeguard public health.
The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also finds that about two-thirds of Americans disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling the outbreak, an unwelcome sign for the White House in an election year shaped by the nation’s battle with the pandemic.
More than four months after government stay-at-home orders first swept across the U.S., the poll spotlights an America increasingly on edge about the virus. The federal government’s response is seen as falling short, and most Americans favor continued restrictions to stop the virus from spreading even if they might hamstring the economy.
Support for requiring masks is overwhelming among Democrats, at 89%, but 58% of Republicans are in favor as well. The poll was conducted before Trump, who for months was dismissive of masks, said this week that it’s patriotic to wear one.
“Not wearing a mask, to me, poses a greater risk of spreading the COVID,” said Darius Blevins, a 33-year-old Republican-leaning independent from Christiansburg, Virginia, who works in bank operations. Blevins said he wears a mask in public because “it’s much more effective than not wearing the mask.”
It’s an opinion echoed by data analyst James Shaw, an independent who tilts Democratic. “If you understand the facts, there is really no issue,” said Shaw, 56, of Noble, Illinois. “The data is crystal clear.”
For months health officials have said several simple steps could save lives — washing hands frequently, staying away from crowds, especially while indoors, and pulling on a mask when heading out to the supermarket, the office or a restaurant. And despite heated rhetoric about masks in some corners, 95% of Democrats and 75% of Republicans said they’re wearing face coverings when leaving the house. Overall, 86% of Americans say they’re doing so, compared with 73% in May.
As the tally of coronavirus infections continues to climb, state and local governments have tried to find a balance between restrictions intended to limit the virus’ spread, such as closing bars and indoor dining at restaurants, and getting workers back on the job after many businesses were idled and millions of people were left jobless by the initial stay-at-home orders.
The U.S. has more than 3.9 million known cases of the coronavirus, with many more undetected, and more than 140,000 people have died of it this year.
The U.S. leads the world in confirmed cases and deaths and ranks near the top on a per-capita basis. California, which earned plaudits from health officials for aggressive early action that included the first statewide stay-at-home order, is among states seeing a surge. On Wednesday, California passed New York for the most confirmed cases with 409,000.
About half of Americans now say they’re extremely or very worried about themselves or someone in their families being infected with the virus — about the same as in March, but a steep increase from June, when just 32% said they were that concerned. Republicans were less likely to be anxious about the illness, but concern rose among members of both parties.