Fargo, ND (AP) – A majority of people in the United States continue to support the demand for a mask for people traveling by plane and other shared transport, according to a poll. A federal judge’s decision suspends the government’s mandate for a transport mask.
A survey by the Associated Press’s NORC Center for Public Affairs found that despite opposition to this requirement, which includes verbal and physical violence against flight attendants, 56% of respondents support the requirement for people on planes, trains and public transport to wear masks. compared to 24% against and 20% who say they are neither for nor against.
Interviews for the poll were conducted last Thursday to Monday, shortly before a federal judge in Florida revoked the mandate for national masks for airplanes and public transportation. Airlines and airports immediately removed requirements for passengers to wear face masks.
The Transport Security Administration has stopped applying the mask requirement, and the justice ministry said on Tuesday it would not appeal the decision unless the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deems it necessary. The CDC said on Wednesday that it continues to encourage people to wear masks in all indoor public transport spaces and assesses the need to require a mask in those places.
The poll shows a broad guerrilla divide on the issue. Among Democrats, 80% support and only 5% oppose the demand. Among Republicans, 45% are against compared to 33%, with 22% saying neither.
Vicki Petus, who recently moved from Frankfort, Kentucky, to Clearwater, Florida, to be close to her grandchildren, said she enjoys views of Old Tampa Bay, but dislikes Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “very inappropriate attitude.” , Republican, on camouflage. She said she would continue to wear her mask to protect herself from the coronavirus, including around her home community aged 55 and over and on a plane when she travels to Kentucky in a few weeks.
“Especially on a plane with that air circulating,” said Petus, a 71-year-old independent who leans toward the Democratic Party. “I think people are really stupid not to wear their masks. But, hey, it’s their decision, and if they want to get sick, that’s fine. I will not.”
But Christe Lee, who works in sales in South Florida, can’t wait to fly without a mask the next time she travels next month.
“I really wish I was on the plane when I made this announcement,” said Lee, 47. “I was going to dance up and down the aisle.”
Continued public support in general for the mandatory wearing of masks in transport comes even when concerns about COVID-19 are among the lowest points in two years. Now only 20% say they are very or extremely worried that they or a family member will be infected. This is a bit down, as 25% said the same thing just a month ago and 36% in December and January, while the Omicron version was raging. Another 33% now say they are somewhat worried, while 48% say they are not worried at all.
Earl Betty Harp of Leitchfield, Kentucky, is among the “very worried” and not because he will turn 84 next month. She said she takes care of her big house and yard on her own, makes a lot of cans and is in “fantastic health for my age”. But she lost many friends and family to the virus, which killed nearly 1 million people in the United States.
“I know COVID is still here. It’s still around, “said Harp, who described herself as an independent Republican. “I think we all need to wear masks a little more.”
In another AP-NORC survey last month, 44% of respondents still say they often or always wear face masks outside their homes, although this is significantly lower than the 65% who said so at the beginning of the month. the year.
The latest survey also shows that about half of people support the demand for masks for workers who interact with the public, compared to about 3 out of 10 against. Support is similar to requiring people to wear masks at crowded public events such as concerts, sporting events and movies.
There are also significant guerrilla divisions along them. Seventy-two percent of Democrats support the demand for people attending crowded public events to wear masks, while 25 percent of Republicans are in favor and 49 percent are against. The figures are similar for the requirement of masks for socially upright workers.
Lee, who said no “politics” is being done, wonders out loud why people are complaining about the judge’s decision, and said no one is stopping anyone from wearing masks if they want to.
“We all have our own beliefs and obviously different views,” said Lee, who has not been vaccinated. “Mine are definitely different from people who are angry and upset.”
Employed people are divided over whether those who work in person at their own workplaces should be required to wear masks. Thirty-four percent say they support this demand, 33% are against and 33% are neither for nor against. Among Democrat workers, 48% are in favor and 18% are against. Among Republican workers, 53 percent are against and 18 percent are in favor.
Mike Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said reports on the mask’s mandate would be more effective if they required N95 or KN95 respirators, which are more effective at preventing virus transmission. .
“But you have actually created a real challenge for yourself with the public, which is now selective, if not outraged by these mandates,” said Osterholm, who added that he would continue to wear his N95 mask on airplanes.
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The AP-NORC survey of 1,085 adults was conducted April 14-18, using a sample from NORC’s AmeriSpeak probability-based panel, which is designed to be representative of the US population. The permissible sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
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