U.S. public sees multiple threats from the coronavirus – and concerns are growing

Seven-in-ten U.S. adults say the COVID-19 outbreak poses a major threat to the nation’s economy and 47% say it is a major threat to the overall health of the U.S. population, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted March 10-16. So far, Americans are less concerned about how the new coronavirus is affecting their health, finances and local communities.

• See all of our COVID-19 coverage
• Bipartisan confidence in CDC, state and local officials
• Fewer Republicans than Democrats see ‘major’ threats from coronavirus
• How an extended job absence would impact workers

Americans immersed in COVID-19 news; most think media are doing fairly well covering it

Roughly half of U.S. adults (51%) are following news about the coronavirus pandemic very closely, with another 38% following it fairly closely. Americans give the news media relatively high marks for their coverage of COVID-19, though most think their reporting has at least somewhat exaggerated the risks. 

• Republicans rate coverage from their own news sources far better than they rate the news media overall
• Many Americans suspect human role in COVID-19 origins
• Explore the latest data yourself in our Election News Pathways tool

Before the coronavirus, telework was an optional benefit, mostly for the affluent few

COVID-19 may do what years of advocacy have failed to: Make telework a benefit available to more than a relative handful of U.S. workers. Only 7% of civilian workers, or roughly 9.8 million people, have access to a “flexible workplace” benefit, or telework. And those workers are largely managers, white-collar professionals and the highly paid.

• As schools close due to the coronavirus, some U.S. students face a digital ‘homework gap’

Before the pandemic, three-quarters of Americans said people would cooperate with each other in a crisis

One finding from a late 2018 survey about public trust in the United States may offer some hope as the country confronts the new coronavirus: Three-quarters of Americans said people would cooperate with each other in a crisis, even if they didn’t trust each other. Wide majorities across demographic and partisan groups expressed this view.

Urban residents in states hit hard by COVID-19 most likely to see it as a threat to daily life

Most white evangelicals satisfied with Trump’s initial response to the COVID-19 outbreak

Looking back on impeachment, a quarter of Americans say Trump did nothing wrong

When Americans think about a specific religion, here are some of the first people who come to mind

About half of U.S. adults are wary of health effects of genetically modified foods, but many also see advantages

From our research