Sixty-four percent of Americans believe their local governments will loosen COVID restrictions within the next three months, while nearly 50 percent think some social distancing measures will remain permanent, according to a recent study by Signs.com.
Just 8 percent believe that social distancing measures will never stop, while 79.1 percent think mask wearing will remain in place the longest. COVID measures have been in place in some capacity since March, when the pandemic hit the U.S. hard.
Many cities and states have relaxed some restrictions, while other communities remain strict inlcuding in Seattle, Wa., where Gov. Jay Inslee is considering a rollback in his reopening plan in several counties, including King County, where cases of coronavirus have plateaued after rising steeply over the past month.
The survey, published Friday, also found:
- 45.4 percent of respondents disliked the "new normal" of social interactions during COVID-19
- 43.1 percent believe the world would go back to normal, just as it used to be
- 41.3 percent thought that some social distancing measures would remain permanently, even after the pandemic ends
- 57.6 percent said they are uncomfortable visiting the gym, while 54.4 percent said the same about restaurants and 45.2 percent said the same about hospitals.
- 72.6 percent said they felt most comfortable going to places like parks (72.6 percent), grocery stores (59 percent) and pharmacies (57.9 percent) in person.
- 54.8 percent listed one-way aisles in stores as the most annoying social distancing measure
- 22.9 percent confirmed they were following social distancing rules more strictly now than at the beginning of the pandemic compared with 27.7 percent who had decreased their efforts in following the previously adopted practices.
Signs.com surveyed 1,009 people aged 19 to 81. The study has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
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