(Pew Research Center) As the number of coronavirus cases surges in many states across the United States, Republicans and Democrats increasingly view the disease in starkly different ways, from the personal health risks arising from the coronavirus outbreak to their comfort in engaging in everyday activities.
These differences extend to opinions about whether a new stimulus package will be needed to address the economic fallout from the coronavirus. Republicans are now much less likely to say an additional stimulus package is necessary than they were in early April, while Democrats continue to overwhelmingly say more economic assistance is needed.
A growing share of Republicans believe that the nation has turned a corner in its struggle with the coronavirus. A majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (61%) now say that when thinking about the problems facing the country from the coronavirus, “the worst is behind us,” while 38% say the “worst is still to come.” This marks a reversal of opinion since early April, when a majority of Republicans (56%) said the worst was still to come.