Reuters/Ipsos Core Political: Coronavirus Tracker (04/22/2020)

Washington, DC, April 22, 2020 — The latest Reuters/Ipsos Core Political survey finds that commitment to social distancing and hygienic practices has waned, more Americans rate the economy and jobs as the priority issue facing the country, and approval of President Trump’s handing of COVID-19 has dropped slightly.

This week, some Americans have begun to reel back on social distancing and hygienic practices.

• Seven in ten Americans (69%) report washing their hands or using disinfectant more frequently due to COVID-19 – a 6 point drop since last week.
• There is also a significant drop in those who report avoiding physical contact with others (74% last week, 66% this week) and those who report avoiding large gatherings of people whenever possible (76% last week, 69% this week).

 Amidst calls to re-open the economy, the economy and jobs has increased as the top issue of importance, particularly among Republican registered voters.

• Three-quarters (75%) of Americans are washing their hands more frequently because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
• The increase in perceived importance of the economy and jobs is largely driven by Republican registered voters, with 36% who report the economy and jobs as the most important problem compared to 29% last week. Healthcare is only a top priority for 17% of Republican registered voters.
• While most Democratic registered voters remain focused on healthcare (33%), the number who believe the economy is the most important issue has also risen slightly (22% to 25%).

Both approval of President Trump’s handling of COVID-19 and his overall approval have fallen slightly.

• Trump’s approval rating for his handling of COVID-19 stands at 44%, reflecting a 4 point drop from last week (48%).
• President Trump’s overall approval stands at 42% this week, down from 45% last week.  
   

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About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between April 15-21, 2020 on behalf of Thomson Reuters. For this survey, a sample of 4,429 Americans age 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii were interviewed online in English. The sample includes 3,806 registered voters, 1,785 Democratic registered voters, 1,550 Republican registered voters, and 330 independent registered voters. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 1.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Americans been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. The poll also has a credibility interval of ± 1.8 percentage points for registered voters, ± 2.6 percentage points for Democratic registered voters, ± 2.8 percentage points for Republican registered voters, and ± 6.2 percentage points for independent registered voters.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Jackson
Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2025
[email protected]

Kate Silverstein
Media Relations, US
Public Affairs
+1 718 755-8829
[email protected]

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