The chants of “open it up” are growing despite increasing numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths.
In the latest Zogby Poll, a national sense of frustration and exhaustion with waves of shutdowns and restrictions was evident in the findings that nearly half want the economy opened up just before Christmas.
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The poll from Zogby Analytics said that 48% want to “open up the economy.” Another 43% said they want to “keep less capacity.”
Voters in the South and younger workers also led the group calling for fewer restrictions.
As the number of cases has grown since Thanksgiving, several states and cities have imposed new crowd crackdowns. In Baltimore, this week, for example, the new mayor stopped restaurants from serving customers inside or outside.
As with most everything, politics played a role.
“Republicans (68% open/27% less capacity) were twice as likely to want the economy to be open than Democrats (34% open/57% less capacity), while independents (42% open/46% less capacity) were more likely to want the economy to be at less capacity, but not on the same level of intensity as Democrats,” said the analysis.
And shoppers, now flocking to stores for Christmas, also want freedom to roam. Said the analysis, “Weekly Walmart (58% open/34% less capacity) and weekly Amazon shoppers (59% open/35% less capacity) were more likely to want the economy open.”
