Most Americans consider using a mask near others a sign of respect and a matter of public health, a new HuffPost/YouGov poll discovers.
In recent weeks, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence‘s regular eschewal of masks, integrated with a few high-profile incidents of public protest, have actually apparently threatened to turn the concern into another front for partisan hostilities Public viewpoint on masks, like other aspects of the coronavirus crisis, doesn’t fit nicely into the hyperpolarized framework that defined previous political fights over concerns like impeachment.
There are still substantial partisan and market divides, however they’re not so noticable regarding leave the 2 parties diametrically opposed. Rather, the space is a matter of degrees, with a broad bulk of Democrats and a more modest majority of Republicans using support for masks and rejecting the concept that using them is a meaningless practice or an indication of weakness.
Americans state, 62%to 29%, that choosing to wear a face mask is more a matter of public health than a matter of personal choice, the study discovers.
A 45%plurality say they feel that using a face mask safeguards the individual using it and others similarly, with 31%saying it mainly safeguards others from bacteria the user may be carrying. Just 9%state it serves primarily to protect the person using it, and simply 8%that it uses no benefits at all.
Fairly few Americans say that they’re constantly wearing a mask or other face covering outdoors, with even fewer saying that they’re never ever doing so.
About two-thirds state they constantly or mostly use a face mask or other covering when they’re in public and near other individuals (while grocery shopping, for instance), with another 23%stating they do so only every now and then or not at all, and the rest saying they haven’t faced such a circumstance. In circumstances where they’re in public however not coming near others (say, taking a walk someplace quiet), 46%state they mostly or constantly wear masks, and 46%that they hardly ever or never ever do, with the rest staying inside entirely.
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