CBS News/YouGov - Most Americans will be comfortable visiting friends once stay-at-home orders end

This poll is a part of the CBS News/YouGov partnership and was first cited in the CBS News article, “Americans prioritize staying home and worry restrictions will lift too fast“

A majority of Americans believe that widespread stay-at-home orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are effective—according to a new CBS News/YouGov Poll—but once they are lifted, most (54%) will be comfortable visiting friends right away.

A majority of US adults are more worried about the country reopening too fast (63%) than too slow, and a plurality (48%) will not be returning to public places until they are confident the coronavirus outbreak is over. For many, that means that even if the stay-at-home orders are lifted, they would not be comfortable attending large entertainment events, getting on a plane, or going to restaurants. 

However, about three-quarters of Republicans (73%) say they will be comfortable immediately visiting friends once stay-at-home orders are lifted. That’s a 36-point difference from Democrats (37%), who are less comfortable with various social interactions across the board. Only about one-third of Democrats (37%) say they would visit friends right away.

That option may not happen anytime soon. Most Americans (56%) say widespread public testing is necessary before the country can be reopened, and a majority are opposed (62%) to individuals who are protesting against the lockdown and stay-at-home restrictions. People who support shorter times for stay at home orders are more than twice as likely to be seen as trying to gain a political advantage (51%) compared to those who support longer times for stay at home orders (28%).

Methodology: This CBS News survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 2,112 U.S. residents interviewed between April 20-22, 2020. This sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, and education based on the American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, as well as 2016 presidential vote and registration status. The margin of error is +/- 2.5 points.

This article was originally published by YouGov here.