Coronavirus US Response: Majority Of Voters Say Social Distancing Should Continue Even If It Damages Economy, Poll Says

A new Politico/Morning Consult poll shows 81% of voters believe social distancing measures should continue, even if it hurts the U.S. economy. Only 10% of voters believe the measures should be lifted to boost economic growth even if it causes the virus to spread, while 9% said they had no opinion on the issue.

The survey revealed that 89% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans believe the social distancing policies should continue.

President Trump has said that the decision to reopen the economy would be the hardest of his life. He stated that he has “total authority” to relax shutdown orders, a claim that was swiftly rebuked by state governors. Trump also said he is coming close to finalizing a plan to reopen the economy and will speak to leaders of various industries for advice.

“It’s going to be very close, maybe even before the date of May 1st … for some states,” Trump said Tuesday about reopening the country. “Actually, there are over 20 [states] that are in extremely good shape. And we think we’re going to be able to get them open fairly quickly, and then others will follow.”

The majority of U.S. states have shut down non-essential businesses, asking residents to stay home. This has resulted in an economic crisis, with the federal government passing a $2.2 trillion financial package to aid workers and impacted industries amid the pandemic.

New York City, which has been an epicenter of the outbreak, announced Wednesday that all residents in the state should wear masks or coverings while in public. Even if many businesses reopen in the coming months, it is highly likely that some social distancing guidelines will remain in place.

The U.S. currently has more cases than any other country in the world. As of 2 p.m. ET, there are 613,187 coronavirus cases and a death toll of 26,950.