Poll: Americans Forgo Masks, Deem Coronavirus ‘Little or No Risk’

Americans are returning to levels of pre-pandemic normalcy two years after the start of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, as a majority now deem the virus “little or no risk,” the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index released this week found.

It appears Americans are truly trying to move on from the pandemic, as roughly one-third, 32 percent, said they have returned to levels of pre-pandemic normalcy in their day to day routines. Another 23 percent plan to do so this year. Overall, 66 percent said the Chinese coronavirus poses “little or no risk.”

Normal behaviors are resuming, as 61 percent of Americans reported going out to eat in the last week, while anther 59 percent said they saw family members or relatives — a stark contrast from just one year ago, when many continued to modify their routines and remain in isolation.

The move away from masks is happening across the globe.

Additionally, the survey found the 36 percent continuing to practice social distancing, which Ipsos identified as the “ lowest since Summer 2021.”

Americans are also quitting masks, as just over a quarter reported wearing a mask at all times when outside of their home, 17 percent lower than the 43 percent who said the same when asked in February. 

Further:

• Just over a third of American workers (39%) report that their employers are requiring masks in the workplace, down from half (52%) two weeks ago and just over a quarter (27%) of Americans report their local government is requiring masks to be worn in public places.
• When asked their general preference on COVID policies, a large majority of Americans (75%) tilt towards opening up with the plurality (45%) saying we should keep some precautions but move towards opening.
• A majority of Americans (64%) also support “federal, state, and local government lifting all COVID-19 restrictions”.

Despite that, Americans have expressed a willingness to alter their behaviors yet again, as 74 percent suggested they would be likely to wear a mask again the event of a virus surge. However, half believe the establishment media is “overexaggerating the threat of COVID-19 and a third (36%) believe 99% of COVID cases are harmless.”

The survey was taken March 11-14, 2022, among 957 adults and has a +/- 3.5 percent margin of error.

While restrictions and mandates appear to be loosening up, conservative critics of lockdowns, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), have warned the move is likely driven by politics — not science. 

“The minute those elections are over, they will impose mandates if they feel the need to do that. They will impose restrictions,” DeSantis said during a roundtable discussion in Doral, Florida, last week:

“And so that will happen. If those types of people are allowed to be put in power — my view on that is, they’ve put Fauci in the witness protection program because he will say, you know, no, you should still wear a mask, and he’s never going to say be normal, go back to normal. So they know that, and they know that that’s not what people want,” DeSantis said, emphasizing that “people want to be able to make decisions for themselves.”

“There’s nothing wrong if on an individual basis you make a certain calculation. That’s fine. We encourage you to do that. But it’s wrong to mandate people and restrict people, and that will happen. I guarantee you, winter of 2022, any of those folks that are there, you are going to see that happen,” he continued.

“The only way to make sure it doesn’t happen is to have nice, big, red wave,” he concluded. “So, we’ll see.”