A survey by Seaton Hall University finds that 72 percent of Americans are reticent to attend a live sporting event, unless there is a coronavirus vaccine available for the public.
The poll found a large number of people leery about going back to the stadiums and arenas in this coronavirus scare. 72 percent overall and 61 percent of respondents claiming to be sports fans said they are afraid of attending large events, Bleacher Report noted.
Another 12 percent said they would only attend if stadiums somehow enacted “social distancing” among the crowds. And only 13 percent said that they think large events are just as safe now as before the Wuhan pandemic.
Most of the respondents were satisfied that the various sports leagues shut down their games at the right time. In addition, 76 percent were confident that sports as a whole responded to the virus in time. Also, 16 percent said that the games were not shut down fast enough, while only 6 percent said it was too early.
As to shutdowns, a massive 84 percent said that delaying the 2020 Olympics until next year was the right move.
“This virus has the attention and respect of the nation,” Rick Gentile, director of the Seton Hall Sports Poll, said in a press release. “Those who identify as sports fans, at all levels of interest, line up closely with the general population in regard to their own safety and that of the players.
“Medical experts have repeatedly put the timeline for approval of a vaccine into 2021, although they have not ruled out an existing drug proving effective for treatment this year. Seventy-four percent of Americans thought it was possible, likely or very likely that sports would be canceled for the rest of this year,” the survey added.
The poll was conducted by telephone on April 6-8 with 762 respondents — 348 from landlines and 414 from cell phones.
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