A strong majority, 80%, believe that strict shelter-in-place measures are still needed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll.
Only 19% say that such measures are an unnecessary burden on the economy and are doing more harm than good.
This comes as many states and localities are set to lift such restrictions partially. Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican from Georgia, is allowing many businesses, including gyms, bowling alleys, and barbershops, to reopen Friday.
Republican governors have been leading the charge to reopen the economy. Yet, the poll shows 79% of people living in states with GOP governors favor strict shelter-in-place measures. More than 6 in 10 Republican respondents living in those states favor such measures. Ninety-six percent of Democrats favor them.
The poll also found that 81% can follow strict social distancing guidelines for at least another month, while 17% say they can follow them for less than a month or not at all.
An increasing number of people say their lives have been disrupted by the response to the coronavirus, with 84% saying they have been disrupted either a little or a lot. That’s up from 72% in late March and 40% in early March, according to the KFF poll.
However, there is a glimmer of optimism. Just over half of respondents say that the worst of the pandemic is yet to come. That’s down from 74% in late March. There is a deep partisan divide on such optimism, with 64% of Democrats saying that the worst is still to come, compared to only 27% of Republicans.
