Most Americans oppose reopening country now: poll

A large majority of Americans oppose reopening the country now, with Democrats and Republicans sharply divided on the question, according to a poll published on Friday.

Sixty-four percent of those polled by ABC News/Ipsos said opening the country now is not worth it because it will mean more lives lost to the coronavirus.

Thirty-four percent said opening the country now is in fact worth it because it will keep economic damage from the lockdowns to a minimum.

Only 6 percent of Democrats polled backed reopening now while 65 percent of the Republicans surveyed were in favor.

Forty-two percent of those polled said they approve of the way President Donald Trump is handling the response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 1.25 million people in the United States and caused more than 75,000 deaths.

Fifty-seven percent said they disapproved of Trump's handling of the crisis.

Trump's approval ratings broke sharply along partisan lines. Eighty-seven percent of Republicans said they approve of his actions but just 9 percent of Democrats did.

And Americans remain concerned about contracting the virus, the poll found.

Seventy-seven percent of those surveyed said they were concerned that they or someone they knew could catch it while 23 percent said they were not worried.

The ABC News/Ipsos pollsters also asked Americans how likely they would be to get vaccinated if a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine is developed.

Seventy-four percent said they were likely to get vaccinated while 25 percent said they were not.

The poll of 532 adults was conducted on May 6-7 and has a margin of sampling error of 4.9 points.

© 2020 AFP