Percentage of Americans avoiding small gatherings slips in new poll

The number of Americans who said they are avoiding small gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic slipped in the last week of April, according to a Gallup poll released Monday. 

Seventy-four percent of respondents said they have avoided small gatherings in the past week, according to surveys conducted between April 27 and May 3, which is about a 10-point drop from the number who said the same a week before, according to the poll. 

Similarly, Gallup reported an increase, up to 17 percent, in the number of Americans who said they are considering being a part of small gatherings, an uptick from 9 percent the week before, based on the same poll. 

Republicans are less likely to report avoiding small gatherings than Democrats or independents, based on the poll. 

Sixty percent of Republicans polled reported avoiding small groups in the latest poll, a 7-point decrease from the week before. Among Democrats in the survey, there was just a 2 point difference between the weeks, with 86 percent saying they were avoiding small gatherings in the latest poll. 

Seventy-four percent of independents polled said the same, a 10-point drop from the 84 percent who said they were avoiding those gatherings the week before.

Although Democrats have consistently been the most likely to avoid small gatherings, based on the polling, the latest poll’s 26-point gap marks the widest difference between Republicans and Democrats on the matter. 

The poll also found that about 1 in 6 respondents said they visited someone else’s home in the past day. Republicans and independents were more likely to report doing so, at 19 percent and 18 percent, respectively, than Democrats, at 11 percent. 

Gallup’s results are based on web surveys conducted April 27 to May 3 from a sample of 4,553 adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.