Americans getting used to COVID-19 crisis, poll says

Americans are getting used the COVID-19 crisis, according to a Monmouth University poll released Monday.

The number of Americans who said they were very concerned about the someone in their family contracting a serious case in the virus fell to 42%, down from a high of 50% last month. This month’s figures are similar to the 38% that said they were very concerned in late march.

Another 28% said they were somewhat concerned, 14% said they were not too concerned and 16% said they were not concerned at all.

Still, more people than ever, 40%, reported knowing someone who got the virus. That’s up from 26% in April.

Non-white Americans were nearly twice as likely to report someone in their families having contracted the virus than white Americans, 23%-12%.

Concern over the virus has fallen furthest among the latter group. On Monday, 34% said they were very concerned about the pandemic. That’s down from 46% last month and 31% in march.

Among Latinos, the number who said they were very concerned fell to 55% from 60% in April.

“Concern about Covid seems to have returned to where it was in the early days of the public response to the pandemic in this country,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

Older Americans are also less worries, with the number of Americans over 55 saying they were very concerned about the virus falling to 44% from 56% last month.

Fewer Americans, 56%, are reporting the virus having a major impact on their lives than did last month, when 62% said the same.

“The drop in feeling a major impact may be partly due to the fact that things have stabilized for most families after taking a hit in April,” said Murray.

Still, 31% of those polled said they or someone in their household had been laid off because of the virus. That number is slightly higher than the 30% it was last month.

Respondents told pollsters they were doing slightly better financially now than they were last month, with 63% saying their finances were stable and 23% saying they were struggling. In April, 54% said they had a sense of financial stability, and 20% said they were struggling.

“Americans seem to be differentiating between the short term hit and their long-term prospects. Most expect that they will be back on their feet once the pandemic has passed, although this number has slipped a bit in the past month,” Murray said.