Nearly one-third of Americans believe it will be over one year until they can return to normal, pre-pandemic life, an Axios/Ipsos survey released this week found.
Thirty percent believe it will take over another year, nearing 2023, to return to a state of pre-pandemic normalcy. That number has increased in recent months, as only nine percent expressed that same sentiment in June. Nearly a quarter, 24 percent, believe they can return to a state or pre-pandemic normalcy in six months to a year, but that also reflects a significant increase from June, when 19 percent held that view.
Per Ipsos:
The center of gravity for “back to normal” has shifted further into the future. Now, fewer say they already have returned to their pre-COVID life (22% now, compared to 28% in June) or that it will happen within the next one to six months (13% now, compared to 36% in June).
While “normal” feels farther away for Americans on the whole, a majority are reporting they have already resumed certain regular activities, like attending in-person gatherings of friends and family outside of the home (55%, up from 30% in early March) and dining in at a restaurant (59%, up from 36% in early March).
The news comes as Americans continue to lose trust in Biden’s handling of the coronavirus — something he made a central issue of his presidential campaign.
“220,000 Americans dead. If you hear nothing else I say tonight, hear this: … Anyone who’s responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America,” Biden said during the first presidential debate between himself and former President Trump. That number has since surpassed 700,000.
The same survey found fewer than half, 42 percent, trust Biden “a great deal or a fair amount to provide them with accurate information” on the Chinese coronavirus. However, 86 percent of those who indicated low or little trust in Biden believe the pandemic is already over.
The survey, taken October 8-11, among 1,015 U.S. adults, has a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percent.