Report: One in Four African-Americans Know Someone Who Has Died of the Coronavirus

The June 2020 Daily Kos/Civiqs Poll asked 1,327 adults in the United States about the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on their daily lives and health, their views of the government’s response, stimulus payments, stay-at-home orders, and the 2020 presidential election.

Overview

On May 28, 2020, the CDC reported that over 100,000 Americans had died of COVID-19. The latest Civiqs survey finds that one in ten Americans (11%) now know someone who has died from the coronavirus. One in four African-Americans (25%) know someone who died from coronavirus; nearly three times the rate of white Americans (9%).

As states begin to relax their stay-at-home orders, the number of Americans sheltering in place continues to fall. For the first time since Civiqs asked the question in late March, fewer than half of Americans (49%) are only leaving their home for essential activities, compared to 57% in May and 67% in March and April. However, most Americans (59%) are either extremely or somewhat worried that state re-openings will cause an increase in coronavirus cases.

Democrat Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump 47%-44% in the race for president. Trump’s handling of the coronavirus response is viewed negatively by 54% of Americans, unchanged from one month ago.

Please visit civiqs.com for additional daily updates on Americans’ level of concern about the coronavirus epidemic, and views of the response to the coronavirus outbreak by the U.S. government and state and local governments.

Health Concerns

The share of Americans who are concerned about a coronavirus outbreak in their local area continues its downward trend since peaking in late March. Currently, 56% of Americans are extremely or moderately concerned about an outbreak, down from 63% in May, 72% in April, and 77% in March. It is mostly Democrats (82%) rather than Republicans (25%) who remain the most concerned.

One-half of Americans (51%) are extremely or somewhat worried about getting sick with the coronavirus themselves. This represents a moderate decrease from 53% a month ago and 60% at the height of the outbreak in March.

Stay-at-Home Orders

Americans are increasingly venturing out. While 49% still spend nearly every day at home and leave only for essential items, 24% say they go out when they want, and 26% describe their lives as essentially the same as before the outbreak. In May, 19% were going out freely, and 23% had resumed normal daily life.

Even so, there remains widespread support for states ordering everyone to stay at home except as needed to perform essential activities. Americans are likewise concerned that state re-openings will cause an increase in coronavirus cases. A clear majority (60%) support their state’s stay-at-home orders, versus only 33% opposed. A similar number (59%) are somewhat or extremely worried that the number of cases will rise as states re-open.

Economic Impacts and Policy Remedies

The economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak on American families has held steady since last month. One in four households (27%) have been affected by layoffs, furloughs, or lost hours; only slightly higher than the 26% reported in May. Fully 12% of American adults filed for unemployment in the past month, unchanged from May, but much greater than the 8% reported in April.

Americans primarily used the individual stimulus payments from the federal government’s coronavirus response package for essential items such as food and rent. Of the 82% of Americans who received a payment, over half (44%) put the money towards essential items. One in four (24%) saved the payment, and 6% spent it on non-essential items.

Proposals to freeze student loan and rent or mortgage payments until states’ stay-at-home orders are fully lifted are overwhelmingly popular. Three in four Americans (75%) support temporarily freezing private student loan payments, including 94% of Democrats and 58% of Republicans. Two thirds of Americans (66%) support freezing rent or mortgage payments; 86% of Democrats and 46% of Republicans.

Government Response

Americans are growing less and less satisfied with their states’ responses to the coronavirus pandemic. In April, 70% were either completely or mostly satisfied with their state and local government; that fell to 60% in May, and is now 57% in June.

The response by the federal government, including President Trump’s handling of the crisis, is viewed even more poorly. A majority of Americans (58%) are not very satisfied (19%) or not satisfied at all (39%) with the U.S. government’s current response; essentially unchanged from last month. Most Americans (54%) disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling the response to the coronavirus, also unchanged from May.

2020 Presidential Election

In a presidential election matchup between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump, Biden currently leads Trump among U.S. adults, 47% to 44%. President Trump’s favorable rating is 42%. Biden’s favorable rating is 36%, with 9% unsure. Among Americans who have an unfavorable opinion of both Trump and Biden, 45% nevertheless prefer Biden for president, compared to 6% for Trump.

Civiqs surveyed 1,327 adults in the United States from June 1-3, 2020. The survey was conducted online, among selected members of the Civiqs research panel. Sampled individuals were emailed by Civiqs and responded using a personalized link to the survey at civiqs.com. The survey results are weighted by age, race, gender, education, party identification, and region to be representative of the population of adults in the United States. The general design effect due to weighting is 1.07. The survey has a margin of error of ±2.8% at the 95% confidence level, accounting for the design effect.