Coronavirus Tracking Update

Three months after the start of the crisis and two months after the start of this tracking poll, the shock of coronavirus begins to wear off as Americans move towards returning to their normal lives. According to our latest data, the final in this series of tracking, the number of Americans that are at least somewhat worried about contracting coronavirus has dropped by 9 points since its high point of 76% on April 4. Our numbers also show the president’s approval rating for his handling of the coronavirus has decreased 6-points from the start of the survey on March 28. Details on these key findings and trendlines for today’s data points are presented below.

On April 4, 76% of Americans were at least somewhat worried about contracting the coronavirus, the highest in our tracking so far. Since then, that figure has dropped by 9 points, with only 67% of Americans being at least somewhat worried about contracting the coronavirus.

President Donald Trump’s approval rating on his handling of the coronavirus is currently sitting at 45%, which has slightly decreased in the past few weeks. It is also 6 points below the 51% approval he held when we first started our tracking on March 28.

A plurality of Americans believe the country’s current economic conditions are poor (42%), with only 23% believing it is either good or excellent. This general perception has remained consistent in the past month. Looking ahead, 26% say they expect the economy to improve over the next month, while 45% say they expect it to continue to worsen.

“With more and more states lifting their stay at home restrictions, we’ll most likely see the perception of the economy continue to improve as we go into the summer season.”
– Scott Tranter, 0ptimus Analytics

“While fear of contracting the virus is declining, fear about the future of the economy is on the rise.”
– Terry Sullivan, Firehouse Strategies