Most U.S. Adults Expect Long-Term COVID-19 Disruption

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As COVID-19 ravages the U.S., more state and local officials are placing stringent restrictions on residents' activities in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. Two-thirds of Americans say they are following news stories about the pandemic "very closely," with the same percentage saying the situation has disrupted their lives -- either a great deal (30%) or a fair amount (36%). Nearly as many expect it to take a few more months (51%) or longer (12%) for the level of disruption to travel, work, school and public events to improve, while 36% say it will only be a few more weeks.

Some Americans are feeling the disruption more acutely than others. These include younger adults, those considered high-risk for serious complications from COVID-19, college graduates, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, those following the news about coronavirus "very closely," and those who live in cities or suburban areas.

	A great deal	A fair amount	Not much/Not at all
	%	%	%
Age
18-29	37	36	28
30-49	33	36	31
50-64	30	35	34
65+	20	37	43
High-risk medical condition
Someone in household with high risk	36	34	30
No one in household with high risk	26	38	36
Education
College graduate	41	39	19
Not college graduate	25	35	40
Party identification
Democrats/Democratic-leaning independents	38	35	27
Republicans/Republican-leaning independents	22	39	39
How closely following COVID-19 news
Very closely	35	37	27
Somewhat closely	24	35	41
Urbanicity
Big/Small city	34	32	34
Suburb	34	40	25
Town/Rural	25	39	37
GALLUP, March 13-22, 2020

Likewise, U.S. adults in most of these groups are also more likely than their counterparts to say the disruption will last at least a few more months.

	A few more weeks	A few more months/Longer
	%	%
Age
18-29	36	64
30-49	38	62
50-64	38	59
65+	31	67
High-risk medical condition
Someone in household with high risk	31	67
No one in household with high risk	39	61
Education
College graduate	31	68
Not college graduate	38	60
Party identification
Democrats/Democratic-leaning independents	28	72
Republicans/Republican-leaning independents	43	55
How closely following COVID-19 news
Very closely	31	67
Somewhat closely	45	54
Urbanicity
Big/Small city	39	61
Suburb	29	71
Town/Rural	36	62
GALLUP, March 13-22, 2020

These findings are from a Gallup poll that began on March 13, the day President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The poll ended on March 22, at which time an estimated one in three Americans were under "stay-at-home" orders in 12 states. Since then, more states have imposed similar restrictions -- resulting in roughly 50% of the U.S. population being urged to remain at home except for essential activities.

The poll was completed before the president said that he wants the U.S. to be "opened up" in time for Easter on April 12. Public health experts have since warned that this would be premature and that they expect the crisis to continue longer than that.

Americans' level of concern that they or someone in their family will be exposed to the novel coronavirus remains high -- more than three in five are very (24%) or somewhat (39%) worried. This level is roughly the same as it was in Gallup's prior reading earlier this month but much higher than it was in February. Worry about the COVID-19 crisis dwarfs past readings from previous health scares, including SARS, West Nile virus and anthrax.

Attention to COVID-19 News Among Gallup's Highest on Record

Few news stories in the past several decades have captured the attention of the American public like the novel coronavirus situation has. Gallup has asked Americans how closely they are following the news about more than 200 separate events since the 1990s. Only one event, 9/11, had a higher percentage of Americans following the news very closely. Two others in addition to 9/11 -- Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq War -- have had a higher percentage following the news very or somewhat closely.

	Very closely	Somewhat closely	Not too closely/Not at all
	%	%	%
September 2001
Terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.	77	20	3
March 2020
Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19	66	27	7
March 2003
War between U.S. and Iraq	63	32	5
September 2005
Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding of New Orleans	58	38	4
GALLUP

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