New poll shows attitudes about COVID-19 and reopening vary along partisan lines
SAN FRANCISCO - Protesters were packed together outside the state capitol building in Sacramento Friday, disregarding state orders for masks and the six feet of social distancing meant to stop the spread of the new SARS-CoV2 coronavirus.
An estimated one thousand people gathered, calling for Governor Gavin Newsom to further relax the stay-at-home restrictions that have been in place since mid-March.
"We're trying to reach out to the government and make their concerns, worries, fears, anger, frustration known," said one protester, Erik Leisten of Gold River.
Some Californians say they share the frustration, but favor following health officials' recommendations to keep the orders in place for the coming weeks.
"If social distancing is what we're supposed to be doing, then protesting is not helping us in any way," said Deshawn Kelly, a manager of a homeless shelter in Marin.
"Keeping social distancing in place whether in schools and business seems the best way forward right now, said Misha Antonich, a teacher at San Francisco's City College.
The balance between public health officials' stay-at-home recommendations and the economic toll increasingly is becoming subject to partisan politics.
In Sacramento,Trump 2020 flags were flying above the crowd of protesters near signs depicting Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom as Hitler.
"What's striking is how quickly we see really sharp partisan divisions emerge," said Professor Eric Schickler of U.C. Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies.
Schickler is co-author of a new poll published Friday that shows the majority Californians support a gradual lifting of stay at home orders.
Professor Schickler says the poll of more than 8,000 Californians shows President Trump's supporters closely mirroring his skepticism of continued stay-at-home and social distancing orders.
"Supporters of President Trump are much more likely to favor ending the shutdown," said Schickler.
The nation has seen confusion as some governors such as Newsom have taken an aggressive approach to stopping transmission, while President Trump at times has sought to downplay the severity of the COVID-19 epidemic, the risks of transmission, and has pushed therapies for treatment of the disease, when his own health advisers have given opposite advice.
The Berkeley IGS poll showed one example where 24% Trump supporters said they feared spreading the coronavirus to others, compared to 58% of Trump critics who were concerned about transmission.
"Trump supporters are much less trustful of scientific experts when it comes to COVID-19," said Schickler, "We do see supporters of President Trump are less likely to say that they're staying at home, supportive of social distancing, and less likely to endorse wearing a mask."
As of April 30th, the California Department of Health reported 50,442 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 statewide. The number of patients hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 is 4,706 with 1,434 of those in intensive care units.
The California Department of Health's total number of known COVID-19 fatalities through April 30th is 2,073, an increase of 91 deaths from the previous day.
California Department of Health data
Professor Schickler says in California, certain specific policies which health officials are still debating, such as the battle over outdoor recreation and beach closures, could become points that cut across partisan lines.
The City of Huntington Beach was in court Friday, fighting the governor's order to close Orange County beaches.
The judge denied the request for an immediate injunction, so beaches will remain closed during the weekend. There was a date set for May 11 for a full hearing on the legal challenge.