A large majority of the public are concerned about the impact of the coronavirus in the United States, and half think it will become a national crisis, according to a new poll.
An Ipsos survey conducted on Wednesday and Thursday found that 74% of respondents are concerned about the growing illness’s effect on the country, and 61% said they are worried about influence on the financial markets. Additionally, 50% said it was either very or somewhat likely an outbreak of the COVID-19 virus would become a “full-blown crisis.”
The poll was conducted through an online panel of roughly 1,000 respondents across the U.S. It also found that about 1 in 10 U.S. citizens have canceled plans to attend an event because of the outbreak, and 7% have canceled travel plans in recent days.
In terms of preparedness, 34% said they had purchased preventative health products such as vitamins, masks, and gloves. Of those polled, 42% said their concern about the virus has grown in recent days.
The poll came the same week that the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw its largest decline since the 2008 recession and largest single-day point drop in history. Despite the slump, markets were up on Monday, and Vice President Mike Pence said on Sunday that he thinks the stock market will rebound from the dip.
Domestic cases of the flu-like virus have increased dramatically in recent days. The total number of those killed by the illness in the U.S. increased to six on Monday, with about 90 infected and dozens of more potential cases under investigation.
The infection began in central China and has since spread across the globe, infecting almost 90,000 people and killing more than 3,000. Localized outbreaks have occurred in Italy, which has seen 1,694 infections and 34 deaths; South Korea, which has had 4,335 infections and 26 deaths; and Iran, which claims it has had 978 infections and 54 deaths, but reports suggest the number there is much higher.
