A large majority Utahns say they would be likely to stay home for another month if public health officials recommended that course of action to control the spread of the novel coronavirus.
A new poll conducted by Y2 Analytics for UtahPolicy.com and KUTV 2News finds 70 percent of Utah voters say they would be either very likely or somewhat likely to stay at home for another month should public health officials deem it necessary for public health. That number includes 53 percent who say they would be very likely to remain at home for another month and 17 percent who feel they would be somewhat likely.
22 percent said they would be very unlikely to remain at home and 8 percent felt they would be somewhat unlikely.
Utah was one of a handful of states to not issue a mandatory “stay at home” order. Instead, Gov. Gary Herbert and state officials turned to a directive, asking Utah’s to “stay safe, stay home.” That directive appeared to pay off initially as the state moved quickly to lift restrictions, dropping the risk level in most areas of the state from the highest (red) to a moderate level (yellow) in just a matter of weeks.
To be clear, Utah has no plans to reinstate the stay at home directive, but the poll suggests most Utahns would comply if cases of COVID-19 were to jump again.
The survey shows Republican voters would be far less likely to comply with an extension with a stay at home directive than independent voters and Democrats.
- “Strong” Republicans appear to be split, with 47 percent saying they would stay at home for another month while 53 percent would likely not.
- 61 percent of “moderate” Republicans are likely to avoid being in public for another month if necessary, but only 50% of independent voters who lean toward the Republican party would do the same.
- A majority of true independent voters, as well as Democrats, say they are prepared to stay at home for another month should public health officials deem it necessary.
Right-wing voters in Utah are hostile to the idea of staying home for a month to slow down the spread of the virus. Just 39 percent of “strong” conservatives say they are likely to remain at home for a month if asked to by state leaders. Compare that to 62 percent of moderate conservatives and 82 percent of moderates.
There’s a wide gap between men and women on the question of staying home for another month during the pandemic as women were far more inclined to socially isolate. 58 percent of women say they would be very likely to obey another month of staying home. Another 20 percent replied they would be somewhat likely to do so.
Male voters in Utah also would be included to heed an extension of stay at home recommendations, but not at the same rate as their female counterparts. Just 48 percent of men would be very likely to comply with a stay at home directive and 14 percent say they’d be somewhat likely.
Y2 Analytics surveyed 1,099 likely Utah voters from May 9-15, 2020 with a 3 percent margin of error.
