Americans are becoming more resilient in the face of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The share of Americans who say they can adhere to social distancing rules and business shutdowns “as long as necessary” before experiencing financial hardship rose to 59 percent this week from 54 percent two weeks ago, according to Gallup.
The share of Americans who say they are already experiencing financial hardship remains at 8 percent, unchanged from the survey taken between April 6 and April 12. That is extraordinary in light of the fact that tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs over that time period.
It suggests that efforts to bolster the economy through direct deposits, small business loans, and augmented jobless benefits have been effective.
The share of Americans who say they can endure “a few more weeks” dipped to 13 percent from 15 percent. Those saying they can last a few more months fell from 22 percent to 20 percent.
At the same time, more Americans say they are ready to return to their normal activities right now. In early April, just 13 percent said they were ready to get back to normal, according to a separate Gallup poll. By the end of the month, that figure had jumped to 21 percent. Thirty-six percent said they would be ready if the number of new cases declined in their state, down from 40 percent. Thirty percent said they would need no new cases in their state to be ready, also down from 40 percent. The percent who said they wanted to wait for a vaccine, however, rose from 7 percent to 12 percent.
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