Stylist Katie Winston cuts the hair of customer Dee Broderick on the sidewalk outside the 7-0-3 Salon, in Chesterfield, Mo., on May 26. Gallup said Wednesday that more people are optimistic about the coronavirus situation in the United States, but believes its restrictions will last until at least the end of the year. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI |
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June 3 (UPI) -- More U.S. adults now believe that the coronavirus situation in the United States is getting better, but more than 50 percent believe the disruption to normal life caused by it will last to the end of the year or longer, Gallup said in a new survey released Wednesday.
The new findings taken from an online, probability-based Gallup Panel survey conducted May 18-24, found that 42 percent of respondents believe the coronavirus situation is getting better, while 36 percent said they believe it is getting worse.
Another 21 percent of U.S. adults said it has stayed the same. The results come after more states move to the second stage of reopening their economies, which have been mostly shuttered since March.
Feelings about coronavirus progress have fluctuated over the past two months. In a survey taken April 13-19, 40 percent said the coronavirus situation was getting better and another 40 percent said it was getting worse. In another survey taken from April 27-May 3, 45 percent said it was getting better and 33 percent said it was getting worse.
Those numbers, though, turned around over the course of May, with 42 percent saying the situation was getting worse and 36 percent said it was getting better from May 11-17. That was the last survey before the current, more optimistic view of the coronavirus situation.
Republicans (79 percent) are more likely to be more optimistic about the coronavirus situation than independents (33 percent) and Democrats (22 percent).
While most U.S. adults are more optimistic, they also see the effects of the coronavirus lasting longer, with 54 percent believing the disruption to travel, school, work and public events will last for the rest of the year and longer.
Thirty percent said they believe the disruption will have for a few more months while 17 percent said it will last a few more weeks.
"As growing numbers have begun to resume some of their normal activities, a plurality of [U.S. adults] are now optimistic about the state of the pandemic," Gallup said. "Yet, this measure has proven to vary somewhat -- and as the public proceeds with caution in getting back to their normal daily lives, their views appear to be influenced more by their party identification than their personal experiences."
