DFP Coronavirus Response Tracking Poll Week 15

By Brian Schaffner Tufts University

Summary

It is now more than three months since we began tracking experiences and attitudes related to the coronavirus pandemic. Our data show that Americans are increasingly reporting having personal experiences with coronavirus illness among their friends and family – nearly 40 percent now say that they personally know at least one person who has been diagnosed with coronavirus. One-in-five Americans say that they know a family member, friend, or co-worker who has been hospitalized because of the virus. And with coronavirus cases on the rise in the U.S., there has been a noticeable dip in the prevalence of in-person socializing. The percentage of Americans who say they are socializing in public is as low as it has been since mid-May.

At the same time, an even bigger financial crisis may be looming for many Americans with the expanded unemployment insurance program set to expire at the end of this month. In this week’s survey, over 40 percent of Americans reported that they could not easily cover an unexpected $400 expense. This is especially true for those who have lost their jobs or had their hours cut due to the pandemic – among this group, 56 percent say that they would not be able to cover such an expense without going into (further) debt.

The vast majority of Americans continue to support extending the expanded unemployment benefits beyond the July 31st deadline. This week, two-thirds said that they either strongly or somewhat support extending the benefits until the unemployment rate falls to where it was before the coronavirus pandemic. Just 23 percent of Americans oppose an extension. The proposal receives bipartisan support, with 80 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of Republicans in favor. Amidst the debate over extending these benefits, Americans continue to disapprove of Trump’s handling of the pandemic. This week, 47 percent of Americans strongly disapprove of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and another 9 percent somewhat disapprove. By comparison, just 23 percent of Americans strongly approve of how Trump has handled the pandemic and 16 percent somewhat approve. Nearly one-in-five Republicans in the poll say that they disapprove of Trump’s handling of coronavirus.

The controversy over re-opening schools may also be playing a role in Trump’s poor approval rating. This week we began asking Americans whether they supported “re-opening elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools for in-person classes.” 60 percent of Americans oppose re-opening schools for in-person classes (42 percent strongly oppose it), while just 34 percent express support (and only 16 percent strongly support re-opening schools). Among parents of children enrolled in schools, 55 percent oppose re-opening while 43 percent support it. Americans are even more opposed to Trump’s proposal to cut funding to schools that do not re-open. Two-thirds of Americans (and 63 percent of parents with school-age children) oppose cutting federal funding for schools that do not re-open for in-person classes – just one-in-four Americans support this proposal.

Worry/Concern about coronavirus

The graph below tracks the percentage of Americans who say that they are very worried about personally experiencing coronavirus and those who are very concerned in general about the coronavirus pandemic.

Taking into consideration both your risk of contracting it and the seriousness of the illness, how worried are you personally about experiencing coronavirus (COVID-19)?

How concerned are you about a coronavirus epidemic here in the United States?

Approval on handling of coronavirus pandemic

The graph below shows net approval – the percent who strongly or somewhat approve of how Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and the CDC are handling the coronavirus pandemic minus the percent who strongly or somewhat disapprove.

Question wording: “For each person or group, say whether you approve or disapprove of the way they are handling the coronavirus pandemic:”

Which level of government do you trust more to handle the Coronavirus pandemic: The [R’s state] state government or the federal government?

Changes in job status

Here we track responses to a question asking respondents how their work has changed since March 1st of this year. Only respondents who are in the workforce are included in the chart below.

Since March 1st of this year, has your work changed? Yes, my hours have been reduced. Yes, I lost my job.

Personal experience with coronavirus

Question wording: Do you, personally, know someone who has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus? (Select all that apply)

Yes, a family member

Yes, a friend

Yes, a co-worker

Social Distancing

Question wording: Which of the following best describes your current behavior?

I am socializing in public places

I am not going to public places, but I am socializing with friends or family in my or their homes

I am not going to public places, but I am socializing with friends or family virtually

I am not going to public places nor am I socializing with family or friends

Government response to Coronavirus

In this section, we show how Americans are evaluating what the government has done to address the Coronavirus pandemic and how much they still want the government to do.

Question wording: Based on what you have heard, do you support the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” or CARES Act?

Question wording: Congress is now considering the HEROES Act, which would spend an additional $3 trillion, including $1 trillion for state and local governments and hospitals, $200 billion in hazard pay for essential workers, and would give households a additional stimulus payments ranging from $1,200 to $6,000. Do you support or oppose this legislation?

Question wording: The expanded unemployment insurance provision that Congress passed as part of coronavirus relief expires on July 31st. Would you support or oppose extending this unemployment insurance expansion until the unemployment rate falls to where it was before the coronavirus pandemic?

Question wording: Which comes closer to your view?

The government needs to spend more to address the coronavirus pandemic, even if it means increasing the national debt and deficit

The government has spent enough to address the coronavirus pandemic and should not do anything else to increase the national debt and deficit

The government has spent too much to address the coronavirus pandemic and should cut spending to reduce the national debt and deficit

Question wording: Would you support or oppose the following provisions in a future legislative package to address the coronavirus pandemic:

General scope of government

Here we track Americans views on the scope of government.

Question 1 wording: Some people think the government should provide fewer services even in areas such as health and education in order to reduce spending. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale. Other people feel it is important for the government to provide many more services even if it means an increase in spending. Suppose these people are at the other end. Where would you place yourself on this scale? 1=Provide fewer services. 7=Provide many more services.

Question 2 wording: Some people feel the government in Washington should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of living. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale. Others think the government should just let each person get ahead on their own. Suppose these people are at the other end. Where would you place yourself on this scale? 1=Govt should let each person get ahead on own. 7=Govt should see to jobs and standard of living.

Question wording: Do you think that the government response right now should mostly be focused on: Relief in the form of assistance to workers and small business OR Investments in new infrastructure to get Americans back to work.

Question wording: Would some form of socialism be a good thing or a bad thing for the country as a whole? (Remaining respondents selected “no opinion”)

Methodology

The Data for Progress coronavirus tracking poll is fielded each week using respondents recruited via Lucid. Post-stratification weights are implemented to make each week’s sample nationally representative of American adults by gender, age, region, education, race, and the interaction of education and race. The margin of error for each week’s survey is approximately ± 4 percentage points (this is a conservative estimate and will vary slightly depending on the exact sample size and design effect each week).

Full Toplines and Crosstabs

A document showing toplines by survey wave for each question can be found here.

Crosstabs for each week’s poll can be found at the links below: