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Three in Four Americans Worry About COVID-19 Exposure
Wellbeing

Three in Four Americans Worry About COVID-19 Exposure

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- About three in four Americans say they are "very" (26%) or "somewhat worried" (48%) that they or a family member will be exposed to the coronavirus. The combined 74% worried in the latest polling is similar to the 70% to 73% figures recorded since March 20, but up 12 percentage points from mid-March.

Line graph. Americans' worries about exposure to the coronavirus, March 13-April 2, 2020.

These data are from a probability-based Gallup Panel survey conducted online March 13-April 2.

Gallup polling conducted by phone earlier in the year also found that worries had grown substantially from February to March, reinforcing that concerns have mounted as the crisis has unfolded over the past two months. The overall percentages worried in the early March telephone survey (60%) and the mid-March web survey (62%) were similar.

For the period of March 30-April 2, a much higher percentage of Democrats (84%) than Republicans (64%) are worried about their risk of exposure, similar to the pattern in early March. However, this is the first time Gallup has found a majority of GOP identifiers saying they are worried.

Women (80%) are still more worried than men (68%). Whites (74%) and nonwhites (73%) are about equally worried.

Adults aged 18 to 44 (78%) are a bit more concerned about exposure to the coronavirus than adults aged 45 to 64 (70%) or 65 and older (72%).

Meanwhile, income is not a factor in levels of concern, as about three in four Americans in each income bracket say they are very or somewhat worried.

Americans' Worries About Exposure to Coronavirus
How worried are you that you or someone in your family will be exposed to coronavirus?
Very worried Very/Somewhat worried
% %
Democrats 35 84
Independents 26 75
Republicans 16 64
Men 20 68
Women 32 80
Whites 26 74
Nonwhites 26 73
18-44 30 78
45-64 23 70
65+ 24 72
Household income less than $36,000 30 74
Household income $36,000-<$90,000 25 75
Household income $90,000+ 26 74
Gallup Panel, March 30-April 2, 2020

Learn more about how the Gallup Panel works.


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