Poll: 59 percent of voters more concerned about rolling back social distancing too soon than economic fallout

Authored by thehill.com and submitted by DoremusJessup
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The majority of voters are more concerned about rolling back social distancing too soon than the potential economic fallout from the coronavirus, according to a new Hill-HarrisX poll.

Fifty-nine percent of voters said they are more worried about social distancing getting rolled back too soon, causing COVID-19 to spread more, compared to 41 percent of voters who fear that if social distancing is not rolled back soon enough it could cause additional economic damage.

The poll found majorities of most demographic groups agreed that the bigger concern was rolling back social distancing measure too soon, though there were some disparities.

Younger voters aged 18 to 34 were less likely than their older counterparts to be more concerned about rolling back social distancing too soon, at 53 percent, compared to 60 percent for those between the ages of 35 and 64.

While a majority of white voters and a slight majority of black voters said they are more concerned about social distancing measures being rolled back, a majority of Hispanic voters said they are more concerned about the financial impact.

Republican voters were less likely than Democratic or independent ones to be more concerned about rolling back social distancing too soon, though it was still a majority.

Fifty-four percent of Republicans and 62 percent of Democrats and independents said they are more concerned that social distancing could be rolled back too soon.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment for the week ending in April 4, indicating that the jobless rate in the country is the highest it's been since the Great Depression.

President Trump Donald John TrumpSanders says he wouldn't 'drop dead' if Trump decided on universal healthcare Overnight Health Care: Trump officials lay groundwork for May reopening | Democrats ramp up talks with Mnuchin on next relief deal | Fauci says death toll could be around 60,000 Hillicon Valley: State officials push for more election funds | Coronavirus surveillance concerns ramp up pressure for privacy bill | Senators warned not to use Zoom | Agencies ask FCC to revoke China Telecom's license MORE announced on Friday plans to call together a new council to focus on reopening the economy.

The Hill-HarrisX poll was conducted online among 1,000 registered voters between April 6 and 7. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

BluStep on April 11st, 2020 at 00:45 UTC »

I'd rather wait than rush it as well.

But I feel like this should be something based on science and professionals rather than poblic consensus whichever way that may be.. which I still think would be wait.

donkeyrider88 on April 11st, 2020 at 00:00 UTC »

The sooner we recover from the epidemic the sooner the economy recovers.

storytimeme on April 10th, 2020 at 23:53 UTC »

No sarcasm / rhetorical jokes... how do you participate in these polls as well as approval rating for the President?