In a recent national survey, more than 44 percent of Americans stated that they were in favor of shutting the country down again if it was necessary to fight the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).
The poll, conducted by Big Data Poll on behalf of the Epoch Times on August 26, was created in response to a statement made by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the same month that he would shut the country down again should scientists and health experts recommend it.
“I would shut it down. I would listen to the scientists,” Biden said in an interview with ABC’s David Muir.
Those who opposed the idea only accounted for 36 percent, while those who were undecided made up only 19.5 percent.
More Democrats support a shut down than Republicans
Based on the survey, American's views on the issues seem to be influenced by their political affiliation. A majority of those who identify as Democrat – 63.2 percent – support a shutdown, while a smaller majority of those who identify as Republicans – 54.9 percent – oppose it.
In addition, age also plays a factor in regards to support for a nationwide shutdown. Younger people in general are more open to a shutdown compared to their older peers.
Only around 24 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 – those who have the lowest risk of suffering serious effects of COVID-19 – opposed a national lockdown. This percentage, however, grows the older the respondents get. More than 49 percent of respondents aged 65 and above say they opposed shutting the country down again.
Meanwhile, women tended to support another shut down more than men with 48.2 percent supporting the idea, while only 30.6 percent opposing it. Men on the other hand were more opposed to it with only 39.5 percent supporting a new shutdown and 42.8 percent opposing the idea.
The national poll interviewed 2,169 likely voters nationwide from August 26 to 30, 2020. These respondents were sourced via voter file-verified online survey panels. The results were weighted based on gender, age, race, education and region.
In terms of political affiliation, 36 percent of those surveyed identified as Democrat while 32 percent identified as Republican, with the remaining 32 percent saying they were independent or supported “something else.” These figures mirror those from the Aristotle National Voter File Database.
Biden has criticized Trump's coronavirus response
Biden's campaign has been using President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as the former's main line of attack. The former vice president's statements on other issues regularly segway into criticisms of the Trump administration's coronavirus response. (Related: Hillary Clinton orders Joe Biden not to “concede” the election to President Trump under ANY circumstances ... even if Biden loses.)
When the pandemic first struck America in spring, Trump limited his executive action on lockdowns to a set of guidelines and left it up to state governors to make lockdown decisions. He let the governors make their own decisions on how to handle the pandemic in their states, as it was felt that they could better take steps based on local conditions.
Recently, Biden has criticized what he has called the “fundamental flaw” of the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic. He stated that the nation cannot recover economically until the virus is under control.
“I will be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives because we cannot get the country moving, until we control the virus,” Biden said. “That is the fundamental flaw of this administration's thinking to begin with. In order to keep the country running and moving and the economy growing, and people employed, you have to fix the virus, you have to deal with the virus.”
Most of Biden's proposed solutions, however, largely mirror the actions that have already been taken by the Trump administration. The only notable exception is a national mask mandate.
America currently has around 6,152,000 coronavirus cases and 186,000 deaths according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
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