LAST UPDATE: AUG. 4, 2021
The Return to Normal: Views on the Pandemic
This tracker is part of a series from Morning Consult gauging when consumers will return to normal activities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more and sign-up for alerts.
Morning Consult is closely tracking the public’s attitudes on vaccines, social distancing, comfort, political and institutional leadership in handling the coronavirus, the economic cost and more.
KEY TRENDS
Biden’s COVID-19 Net Approval Slides to New Low: For the third consecutive week, approval among voters for President Joe Biden’s handling of the coronavirus hit an all-time low, with 52% approving of his performance and 43% disapproving for a net of plus-9. Net approval for Biden’s COVID-19 management also fell to new lows among independents (minus-4) and Republicans (minus-59).
Net Approval for Congress on Coronavirus Continues to Fall: Congress’ net approval for its handling of the coronavirus declined for the fourth straight week, with 39% of voters approving of lawmakers on that front and 49% disapproving. With a net approval of minus-10, Congress has hit its lowest point since late January.
COVID-19 Increasingly Viewed as a Severe Risk Locally: The share of adults who say COVID-19 is a severe health risk to their local community jumped to 27%, up 5 percentage points from the week before. The public’s perception of the local health risk posed by COVID-19 had been rising since early July, but this week’s uptick represents the largest month-over-month increase since November 2020.
Tracking the Return to Normal
When will things return to normal and what will our new normal look like? It’s a question that business, economic and government leaders are grappling with as more and more Americans receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
To help answer this complicated question, Morning Consult is tracking how consumer attitudes are shifting across a wide range of categories, from travel to entertainment to dining, to gain greater insight into not only when consumers will be ready to return to their normal activities, but how their habits will be forever changed. We’ll be updating these pages every week with new data and analyses. Sign-up for alerts below.