A new survey shows that Americans are not willing resume many pre-pandemic activities as the number of reported cases rises across the nation. The Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project conducted the survey in early July and found a significant decrease in the number of people who were confident about returning to normal daily activities from a previous survey done in June.
For example, according to USA Today, only 44% of parents said they said they’d send their child back to school if restrictions were lifted in the latest poll. In June, 48% said they felt comfortable if their kids returned to school.
Five percent fewer people said they were willing to attend religious services. The biggest drop in confidence, however, came from those who said they would feel comfortable going to a friend’s house for dinner. In the July survey, only 59% said it was okay to go, an 8% drop since June.
Robert Griffin, the research director for the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group, told USA Today that American’s confidence in returning to normal activities began to rise after many states lifted social distancing restrictions in May and June.
But when the second surge of COVID-19 cases began to rise, that confidence waned.
According to the survey, Americans are also less likely to participate in the following activities:
- Attend concerts
- Travel by air
- Attend a funeral
- Go to the movies
- Attend a wedding
According to the Nationscape Insights Analysis, the split between Democrats and Republicans who want to resume normal activities has grown wider. More than half the Republicans (58%) in the July survey said they’d send their child back to school while only 35% of Democrats and 36% of Independents felt comfortable doing so.
“This reflects some of the polarization that started to occur around this issue with the president taking a pretty strongly pro-opening of the schools position,” said Griffin.
Lynn C. Allison ✉
Lynn C. Allison, a Newsmax health reporter, is an award-winning medical journalist and author of more than 30 self-help books.
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