Record High 86% Of Americans Report Using Face Masks For Coronavirus Protection - Poll

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Record High 86% of Americans Report Using Face Masks for Coronavirus Protection - Poll

Adults in the United States who report using a facemask to cope with the novel coronavirus pandemic at least once in the past week rose to an all-time high, albeit with about a quarter also reporting reluctance to cover their faces in public, a new Gallup poll revealed on Monday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th July, 2020) Adults in the United States who report using a facemask to cope with the novel coronavirus pandemic at least once in the past week rose to an all-time high, albeit with about a quarter also reporting reluctance to cover their faces in public, a new Gallup poll revealed on Monday.

"A record-high 86 percent of US adults... have worn a mask in public in the past week [although] about a quarter report a fairly lax approach to mask-wearing, saying they "sometimes, 'rarely' or 'never' wear one, compared with 7 percent who said the same when the nation was at its most vigilant in early April," a press release explaining the poll said.

In addition, a 54 percent majority say they worry about people in their area not adhering to social distancing guidelines - topping 50 percent for the first time in Gallup polling throughout the novel coronavirus pandemic, the release said.

"Wearing a face covering when out in public has been a politically charged issue since President Donald Trump said in early April that he would not wear a mask despite the guidance from the CDC [Centers for Disease Control]," the release said.

Trump generally refuses to wear a mask in public, although he was photographed at least once with a face covering during a visit to a Ford Auto plant in May.

Nearly all Democrats (98 percent) report using face masks compared with 66 percent of Republicans - with the 32-percentage point gap also a new record in Gallup's polling on the novel coronavirus. Eighty-five percent of independent voters also say they have worn a mask in public in the past week, the release said.

A casual observation reveals that face mask use drops sharply in rural areas distant from Washington, DC, with about half of shoppers mask-less inside supermarkets, big box retailers and small convenience markets, compared with nearly everyone shopping with covered faces in the nation's capital and close-in suburbs.