US coronavirus cases hit 400k as more Americans question federal response, polls show
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States hit 400,000 Wednesday morning and almost 13,000 people have died around the country, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Globally, at least 83,000 people have died from COVID-19 and more than 1.4 million have tested positive, Johns Hopkins reports.
The actual numbers are likely much higher than the reported cases because of problems with the availability of testing. And researchers believe many people who get the virus either don’t know it or just have mild symptoms.
As the numbers hit another milestone in the United States — which has the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world — a new poll shows a majority of Americans disapprove of the federal government’s response to the pandemic.
According to a CNN/SSRS poll, 55% of people in the United States say the federal government has done a poor job stopping the spread of the virus around the country.
The country is split on how President Donald Trump has handled the virus. A majority, 52%, disapprove of how the president has confronted the pandemic and 45% approve, the new poll shows.
A separate ABC News/Ipsos poll released Friday shows similar numbers, with 52% saying they disapprove of how Trump has handled the coronavirus response.
Poll tracking site FiveThirtyEight, which aggregates poll results, shows 48.2% approve of Trump’s handling of the outbreak and 46.8% disapprove.
The CNN poll, taken between April 3 and 6, shows 69% of people in the United States think the federal government should be doing more to address shortages in medical equipment and personal protective equipment.
According to CNN, “The partisan gap on this question is smaller than the divide over other questions about the government response, with 87% of Democrats, 72% of independents and 42% of Republicans in agreement that the federal government should be doing more to address those shortages.”
The polls also show how daily life has changed for almost everyone as states enact “stay at home” orders and people heed government calls to isolate themselves to put the brakes on the pandemic.
In the ABC poll, 91% said the coronavirus outbreak has changed their daily routine. “Among those affected, a majority - 56% - say they don’t expect to resume their regular routine until after July 1st,” according to the poll conducted April 1 and 2.
“Virtually all Americans, 89%, report being somewhat or very concerned about being infected by the coronavirus, up from 79% two weeks ago,” according to the ABC poll.
About a fifth of respondents on the CNN poll said they know someone personally who has been diagnosed with the virus.
The CNN poll has a margin of error of 3.7%. The margin on the ABC poll is 5.1%.
