How Concerned Are Americans About Coronavirus So Far?

Poll(s) of the week

Depending on what data you look at, more than 1,500 Americans have been diagnosed with coronavirus — or close to 1,200 — although neither count reflects how many people might be infected. It’s a hard disease to track, because there’s still so much we don’t know.

At this point, though, Americans have started to form opinions about the seriousness of the threat of coronavirus, and overall, they’re concerned. In six polls conducted between Feb. 25 and March 11, anywhere from 45 to 57 percent of Americans said they were either very or somewhat concerned about themselves, their family members or members of their community contracting the disease.

However, there are some pretty stark differences in how Democrats and Republicans view the threat of coronavirus. Some polls, like a recent Quinnipiac University survey, show just one-third of Republicans expressing concern, compared with 68 percent of Democrats. Other pollsters have found a narrower gap — in a recent Public Policy Polling survey, for instance, 44 percent of Republicans said they were concerned versus 67 percent of Democrats. But as you can see in the table below, a partisan split is emerging: