New Orleans is rife with coronavirus after Mardi Gras. Florida’s colleges immediately moved to virtual education through at least the summer semester as Spring Break partiers came back to campuses with the virus. These are examples of reckless behavior. Clearly most of us aren’t that careless but how seriously are we taking the guidance of officials? The Pew Research Center dug in with a nationwide survey that produced interesting takeaways.
Would you visit with friends or family members at their homes? What about attending a party? If you could, would you eat inside a restaurant? Are you comfortable going to the grocery store? What about voting? Here’s how adults across the country answered.
- 9% would be comfortable going to a party
- 23% would be willing to eat inside a restaurant given the opportunity
- 34% would be willing to vote in person
- 57% are comfortable going to the grocery store
- 62% are willing to visit friends and family
Based on the answers to these questions we can infer that 9% of us are reckless, or are willing to be given the opportunity, while 38% of us are extremely cautious. That leaves just over half in between. But here’s the thing about COVID-19. Its contagion rate is double the traditional flu. One positive case has led to an average of 2.5 people being exposed. That means that the 9% who are reckless would have the potential to reach around 23% of the population if they were all exposed. It’s a hypothetical example that hopefully won’t happen but it also illustrates the challenges we face with kicking the viruses’ butt when we have people who aren’t especially cautious.
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