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Coronavirus poll: 2 things most Americans believe should change before return to ‘normal’

Despite the countless ways life has changed over the past few months, many people seem to agree there can be no returning to “normal” until a few things affecting parents change.

Regardless of whether they have kids at home, more than 3 in 5 Americans — 61% — believe there can be no return to “normal” until school and child care services resume.

That finding is from a national poll of more than 1,000 people conducted by Heart+Mind Strategies for WTOP on May 6 and 7.

Another question in the poll covered a policy known as universal basic income (UBI), which some politicians supported before the coronavirus pandemic.


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Respondents were asked if they would support a monthly payment of $1,000 to all Americans regardless of their income level. Those supporting UBI were …

  • 49% of Republicans.
  • 56% of Americans.
  • 62% of millennials.
  • 65% of those laid off.
  • 67% of Generation X.
  • 68% of Democrats.

As for reopening the economy, the poll finds no change compared with the previous week: 55% of respondents want to keep current stay-at-home orders and other restrictions, while 45% believe it’s time to start relaxing restrictions.

How are people feeling overall? The poll finds an uptick in negative emotions compared with the previous week, with fluctuations of 3 to 4 percentage points.

  • 28% report feeling scared, an increase of 4 percentage points.
  • 49% feel worried, an increase of 3 percentage points.
  • 29% feel hopeful, a decline of 4 percentage points.

The poll was an online quantitative survey. The surveyors said that if they were to estimate a margin of error, it would be +/- 3.1%, at 95% confidence.


More WTOP coronavirus poll stories:


US strikes Iran and Tehran fires back as hostilities flare again

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military hit targets in Iran on Tuesday and Tehran fired missiles and drones in response as hostilities flare once again in an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. The U.S. strikes followed others on Sunday that abruptly ended a month without military action and threatened to fully reignite a conflict that has spiked global oil prices and posed political problems for Republicans in November's midterm congressional elections. The renewed fighting comes after President Donald Trump had appeared to pivot toward trying to bend Iran to his will through economic sanctions. “If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings,” Trump warned on social media. U.S. Central Command said the latest strikes were in response to Tehran trying to attack commercial ships and American forces in the Middle East. Trump offered an additional explanation, telling Fox News in a phone call that U.S. forces struck Iran's radars.
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