Most Foresee A Country Forever Changed after Coronavirus: CBS News Poll
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - More than half of Americans think day-to-day life in the nation will be permanently changed as a result of the coronavirus. And even more so than last month, many are bracing for a long period before social activities can resume.
Fifty-four percent of Americans think daily life — the way people interact with each other and the way they work — will be permanently changed, while 46% think things will eventually return to normal.
Those who give shorter time frames tend to be younger and are more likely to say that once the virus is contained, day-to-day life will return to the way it was before the outbreak.
On the other hand, most of those who think the virus will take a year or longer to contain also say life in America will be permanently changed. Most in this group say widespread testing is necessary before opening up the country, and they express more concern over things opening up too fast and the outbreak getting worse than they do over things opening up too slowly and the economy worsening.
There are still noticeable partisan differences in these views. A majority of Democrats now say that it will take longer than a few months, while three in four Republicans tell us the opposite — that the virus will be contained in the next few months or sooner. But even among Republicans, that's a noticeably smaller proportion than it was a month ago, when nine in 10 said containment will occur that soon, CBS News reported.
Scientists and medical professionals, as well as political leaders, have been trying to estimate the potential loss of life from the virus and the success of efforts like social distancing and trying to "flatten the curve" of new cases or fatalities. That's been one way to gauge efforts at containment.
For regular Americans gauging the success of the US effort in those terms, many say there have already been too many lives lost for them to consider the effort a success. Another 13% say keeping fatalities under fifty thousand would still represent success, while 23% select a range of fifty to 100 thousand. Still another two in ten say it could be more than that.
More see division than unity amid pandemic, but there is near universal pride in health care and essential workers
In its efforts to fight the coronavirus, more feel the country is becoming more divided than united: 42% saying more divided and 27% more united. But nearly all are in agreement in the pride they feel in seeing what those on the front lines are doing, like doctors, nurses and food service workers.