Less than 10 percent of Americans say COVID still a ‘serious crisis:' poll

People waiting to get tested for COVID-19 near Penn Station in Manhattan on April 11, 2022. A new poll found that less than 10 percent of Americans view COVID-19 as a “serious crisis.” Stephen Yang

More than two years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, fewer than one in 10 Americans view the virus as a “serious crisis,” according to a new poll.

The Axios/Ipsos survey published Tuesday found that nearly three-quarters of Americans (73%) said the pandemic was “a problem, but manageable.” Another 17% said it was “not a problem at all,” while just 9% called it a “crisis.”

There was a clear partisan split in the responses, with Democrats five times more likely than Republicans to describe COVID-19 as a “crisis” – 16% to 3% – while Republicans were 10 times more likely than Democrats (31% to 3%) to say COVID-19 was “not a problem at all”.

The poll was published as many states across the country have lifted COVID-induced regulations and restrictions, such as mask mandates and vaccine requirements — though Philadelphia announced Monday it was reimposing an indoor mask mandate amid an uptick in cases.

The Axios/Ipsos survey found that 73 percent of participants believe COVID-19 is “a problem, but manageable.”

Axios/Ipsos poll

More than a third of adults surveyed (37%) said they have returned to normal, pre-COVID habits, with two-thirds saying they have visited friends or relatives in the past week and 65% saying they had gone out to eat at a restaurant in the previous seven days.

Fewer than one-fourth of respondents (22%) said their employers are still requiring them to wear masks – down from 39% last month. Just 19% said they wear a mask at all times outdoors – down from 26% last month.

Approximately 36% of respondents said they still support stores and restaurants requiring a potential customer to show proof of vaccination before being allowed in – a policy recently lifted in New York City and Washington DC. More than half of Americans (51%) supported such a policy in early February.

The poll found that Democrats were five times more likely than Republicans to call the pandemic a “crisis.”

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

About one third of people surveyed said that they’ve returned to their pre-COVID habits.

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Just 44 % support state or local governments requiring masks in public places – down from 67% at the start of this year.

Tuesday’s poll surveyed 1,043 adults and had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.4 percentage points.

While Americans may hope life is getting back to normal in the coming months, cases have begun to tick upward in Washington DC, where dozens of lawmakers, Biden administration officials and journalists have fallen sick following White House events and large dinners.

As of Monday, 73 people who attended the Gridiron Club dinner on April 2 had tested positive for coronavirus, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Elsewhere in the nation’s capital, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tested positive for the virus last week after interacting with several members of Congress, former President Barack Obama and President Biden at multiple events.

Biden was ultimately not listed as a close contact of Pelosi despite standing very close to her at two events on Tuesday and Wednesday and even giving the speaker a kiss on the cheek at one of them. Pelosi announced on Monday that she had tested negative for the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes a close contact as someone who spends a total of 15 minutes within six feet of the person who has contracted COVID-19 over the course of 24 hours.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both tested negative for COVID-19 on Monday, the White House said.

The BA.2 subvariant of the virus now makes up for more than 70 percent of new infections across the US and could cause a large spike in positive cases as it remains the dominant strain in at least 68 countries.