Vast number of Americans support COVID-19 precautions, CDC says

June 12 (UPI) -- The vast majority of Americans still support social distancing and other measures aimed at containing COVID-19 across the country, even as states begin relaxing the restrictions, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said Friday.

A survey conducted by the agency in May, when the outbreak of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was at its peak in New York, New Jersey and elsewhere in the Northeast, found that 80 percent of Americans agreed with "stay-at-home" orders and the closure of "non-essential" business.

The agency also found that 82 percent felt that gatherings of 10 or more people should not be allowed, while 88 percent agreed that people should stay six feet apart.

The findings are a sign of Americans' willingness to be "selfless in protecting those most vulnerable during the outbreak," CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield said during a conference call with reporters Friday.

"The pandemic has not ended," he said. "While we're making real progress, we have a lot of work ahead as we reopen America."

The survey findings were published Friday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. More than 4,000 U.S. adults were surveyed, including a large segment from New York City, which has been the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States.

The report also offers guidance for Americans as restaurants, theaters and other businesses reopen and large gatherings and events resume in some parts of the country. While New York City has reported declines in new cases of and deaths from COVID-19, several states have reported increases in new infections.

CDC officials on the call avoided being drawn into the debate about whether restrictions were being relaxed too soon. Different communities are experiencing "different levels of [virus] transmission," Dr. Jay C. Butler, the agency's deputy director of infectious diseases and COVID-19 response incident manager, said during the call.

"That decision needs to be made locally, based on disease transmission," Butler said. "If cases go up again [in some areas], strict measures may be needed again [in those areas."

The goal of recommendations in the report -- which include maintaining social distancing at large gatherings, wearing face coverings when outside and washing hands frequently -- "is to keep curve [of new cases] as flattened as possible" and safeguard against the healthcare system being overwhelmed with the new cases, Butler said.

The full list of recommendations is available on a special CDC web page. Among the the suggestions highlighted by Butler:

• When dining out, choose restaurants with outdoor seating and tables at least six feet apart.
• At the gym, don't share equipment that hasn't been disinfected and avoid "high-fiving" and fist bumps.
• When shopping or taking out library books -- among other activities -- try to use businesses and services offering curbside pick-up.

"The purpose of these suggestions is helping people make decisions about how to resume activities and prepare for [large] gatherings," Butler said.

"A general rule of thumb is, the more closely you interact with others, the longer interaction lasts and the more people involved in that interaction, the higher risk for COVID-19 spread," he said.

Americans should expect these recommendations to remain in effect until a vaccine for COVID-19 is available, because even states that have seen a drop in cases could see a resurgence in new infections in the fall or winter, Butler said.

"We must be over-prepared for what we could face later in the year," he said.