The old Bugs Bunny cartoon used to say will that be one lump or two, or perhaps three? Think of Donald as Bugs and his base as the Hillbillies
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The decrease in social distancing isn't just in states that have ended stay-at-home orders. It's also in states where restrictions remain.
www.usatoday.com
Social distancing in US drops significantly from height of COVID-19 pandemic, poll finds
WASHINGTON – More Americans are leaving their homes than at any point in weeks.
The number of Americans who say they are social distancing amid the nation's coronavirus pandemic – although still a majority – has dropped by 17 percentage points since late March as several states have ended stay-at-home orders, according to a new Gallup poll released Friday.
But the drop isn't just from individuals who live in states where they can now dine in restaurants, get haircuts at barbershops or visit parks. More people in states that still have stay-at-home restrictions are also no longer social distancing.
"It's certainly in those states," Jeffrey Jones, senior editor for the Gallup Poll, said of those that have reopened, "but it's also in the states that aren't loosening their restrictions as well."
More:Are lockdowns being relaxed in my state? Here's how America is reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Fifty-eight percent of Americans said they are either completely (17%) or mostly (41%) isolating themselves, the poll found, down from a high of 75% who said they were between March 30 and April 4 and 68% who said they were April 20-26.
The steady decline returns the numbers back to the level before the majority of states implemented stay-at-home orders in March to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The poll, conducted through interviews of 4,159 U.S. adults May 4-10, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
It comes as several states, including Texas, Florida and Georgia, have ended stay-at-home orders and started to reopen their economies. President Donald Trump has increasingly hinged his reelection hopes on reopening the nation's economy, including giving his blessing to protesters who demanded the end of their state's orders.
More:US coronavirus curve may be flattening, but estimated death toll keeps rising. What does this mean?
Of the 21 states that as of May 4 lacked stay-at-home orders, 51% of survey respondents said they were either completely or mostly self-isolating. That's down from 64% in these same states two weeks ago.
more...