For the first time since the start of the pandemic, a majority of Americans believe that healthy people should return to normal rather than stay home. But according to Gallup, the most stubborn group remains Democrats, with 71 percent saying that people should try to stay home even if they are healthy.
Since March 2020, the polling firm has been asking what advice they think is better for people who have no COVID-19 symptoms, “To stay home as much as possible to avoid contracting or spreading the coronavirus” or “To lead their normal lives as much as possible and avoid interruptions to work and business.”
This May, the return to normal crowd finally became a majority, with 56 percent in favor and 44 percent saying people would be better off staying home.
As Gallup’s report notes:
As seen previously, there is a substantial partisan divide on the advice question, with 87% of Republicans versus 64% of independents and 29% of Democrats recommending people should strive to lead their normal lives. Conversely, 71% of Democrats believe people should stay home as much as possible, although this is down from 85% in April.
With a majority of the adult population and three-quarters of those 65 and older fully vaccinated, and daily cases cratering to under 15,000 a day, there is simply no reason to suggest at this point that healthy people should stay home.
Yet this doesn’t tell the full story. In response to another question, 57 percent of Democrats said their lives were completely (2 percent) or at least somewhat (55 percent) back to normal. While those numbers, are still lower than for Republicans (77 percent) and independents (68 percent), the partisan gap is not as dramatic.
This suggests that there is a contingent of Democrats who would advise others to stay home even while they themselves are going back to normal.