Majority of Americans remain patient about COVID-19 restrictions as optimism brews, poll finds

Optimism is becoming the norm in the United States, as 64 percent of Americans believe the country is currently doing a good job of containing the coronavirus, a new CBS News/YouGov poll found. That figure serves as an outlier; since the pandemic began, polls have generally suggested only a minority were satisfied with the containment efforts. Just a month ago, for instance, the figure was 45 percent.

The boost was likely fortified not only by the falling infection rate, but also the sense that the vaccination drive is moving quickly and the expectation that the American Rescue Plan will provide economic relief. There's still a lot of caution though. A majority of Americans are hesitant to gather with their friends, go to the movies, or travel on a plane, and 64 percent of respondents said they'll remain "patient" with governments when it comes to removing coronavirus restrictions.

The CBS News/YouGov poll was conducted between March 10-13 using a representative sample of 2,382 U.S. residents. The margin of error is 2.2 percentage points. Read the full results here.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up