Majorities in both parties say return to normal life risky: poll

The majority of Americans, regardless of party, said they think it would be risky to return to their normal lives amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll. 

Seventy-two percent of Americans surveyed said they think returning to their normal life is a moderate or large risk, according to an Axios-Ipsos poll released Tuesday. 

While a majority of respondents in both parties said they thought there was a risk, those identifying as Democrats were more likely to make the claim, with 83 percent of them saying there’s a risk compared to 62 percent of respondents who identified as Republicans saying the same.

The poll also found 72 percent of independents said there’s a risk. 

The level of concern over the pandemic saw an even more stark difference along party lines.

Among those surveyed, 49 percent of Republicans said they are extremely or very concerned about the coronavirus outbreak, down from 56 percent last week. But 80 percent of Democrats said they remain concerned, based on the poll. 

Stay-at-home orders are in place in nearly every state across the country, and few governors have lifted restrictions or indicated they will do so soon. 

The White House released guidelines last week regarding a phased reopening of parts of the U.S. economy that leaves the final decision up to governors. The guidelines recommend states and regions see a decline in documented cases over a 14-day period before they reopen businesses.

Trump has sent some conflicting messages on social distancing restrictions, after throwing support behind some protests against stay-at-home orders in states that are grappling with the outbreak. 

Across the U.S. there are more than 787,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 42,364 deaths, based on data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

The Axios-Ipsos poll was conducted April 17-20 by “Ipsos’ Knowledge Panel,” which is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,021 adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.