Drastic Decline in Republicans’ Concern About Catching Coronavirus, Poll Shows

There has been a significant decline in concern about catching Coronavirus among Republicans, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll has shown. The polling is yet another example of the stark divide between Democrats and Republicans about the Covid-19 global pandemic.

“Far more Democrats (92%) than Republicans (61%) are concerned about the possibility of catching the highly contagious disease,” the poll reports.

“This difference is driven by a drop in the level of concern among Republicans, from 82%, in the last week, while it is unchanged among Democrats.”

This represents a fall of 21% in the space of just one week – a drastic decline in concern among self-identified Republicans that could influence President Donald Trump’s decisions on reopening the economy, as well as convincing GOP lawmakers to push for ending social distancing.

Separately, the poll shows the President’s approval numbers are underwater for the third week in row.

Trump’s disapproval now stands at 54% against 44% who approve of his handling of the crisis. This is a very small improvement on last week but still represents a 10 point gap that the President will struggle to make up as he tries to get Americans back to work – against medical advice.