President Donald Trump is viewed as the better leader over former Vice President Joe Biden during the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll.
The Politico-Morning Consult survey published on Wednesday shows President Trump received 44 percent support among registered voters, while Biden garnered 36 percent. Twenty percent said they hold no opinion on the matter. The same poll found 52 percent thought Obama would be a better leader during the crisis than President Trump, who received 38 percent support.
The poll, which was conducted April 3-5, comprised of 1,990 respondents and has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points. The figures come as the United States is waging an all-out battle against the coronavirus, which has infected over 400,000 Americans and killed 12,936, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University. Over 22,000 Americans have recovered from the illness.
This week, the federal government expressed cautious optimism about its fight against the coronavirus and has signaled it may loosen some guidelines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering changing its guidelines for self-isolation to make it easier for those who have been exposed to someone with the coronavirus to return to work if they are without symptoms.
The public health agency, in conjunction with the White House coronavirus task force, is considering an announcement as soon as Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence said.
Under the proposed guidance, people who are exposed to someone infected would be allowed back on the job if they have no symptoms, test their temperature twice a day and wear a face mask, said a person familiar with the proposal under consideration. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss the draft because it had not been finalized and described the proposal on the condition of anonymity.
The new policy is aimed in particular at workers in critical jobs. But it also comes as the Trump administration is eyeing what it calls a “stabilization” in infection rates and looks toward rolling back some of the restrictive social distancing guidelines and restarting the stalled economy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.