Nearly 60% More Worried About Relaxing COVID-19 Restrictions Than Hurting Economy

There have been some calling for an easing of stay-at-home orders meant to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Still, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that nearly 60% of U.S. voters are more concerned that relaxing the restrictions would lead to more deaths than they are that the restrictions will hurt the economy. There were 58% worried about easing the restrictions, compared to 32% more concerned about harming the economy by not loosening them. But there was partisan division, with 77% of Democrats and 57% of independents more worried about the virus than the economy. In contrast, among Republicans, 48% were more concerned about the economy and 39% about the virus.