Most in SC support mask requirements, oppose kids going back to school, poll says
While state leaders disagree about how to restart school next month, South Carolina residents are mostly united against sending kids back to classrooms that soon, according to a new poll.
But what do South Carolina’s parents say?
In a new statewide poll from Columbia-based marketing firm Chernoff Newman, most people said they aren’t comfortable sending kids back to school just yet, and it may take them a while to get there.
Forty-three percent told the pollster it could take up to 12 months before they would be comfortable sending children back to school, and another 17% said it could be more than a year.
But 21% said they are already comfortable sending students back, and 14% said they expect to be comfortable with the idea by the end of summer. 5% said they may never be comfortable with the idea again.
Whether, and how, to send kids back to school this fall is becoming an increasingly contentious issue. In the face of the continuing coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Henry McMaster last week pushed for S.C. school districts to open in the fall with regular, in-person classes, while many school districts — backed by state Superintendent Molly Spearman — have sought more flexibility in how children will start the next school year.
S.C. residents’ feelings on the issue, are some of the latest findings in a survey Chernoff Newman conducted among 1,000 respondents in South Carolina and North Carolina between June 23 and July 1. Much of the survey follows up on questions about COVID-19 the firm asked in April, when S.C. residents were just learning to live with the virus.
But other questions cover new developments, like requirements to wear masks in public.
Eighty-two percent said they strongly or moderately agree with being required to wear a mask by a business, restaurant or retail establishment they are visiting. Eighty-one percent agree with mask requirements imposed by city or county governments, which many local governments in South Carolina have put in place in the absence of a statewide mask order.
If McMaster issues a statewide mask order, 79% said they would agree with the state government requiring mask-wearing. In North Carolina, which implemented a statewide mask order last month, 73% told pollsters they agree with the measure.
Forty-nine percent of South Carolinians told the pollsters they already wear a mask “at all times.” Another third said they wear a mask at least half the time. Only 6% said they don’t wear a mask at all. Seventy-five said they believe doing so helps prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Masks could be around for a while. While 27% said they are comfortable now not routinely wearing masks, 46% said they may get to that point sometime in the next year. Twenty-three percent said it will take them longer than a year, and 4% said they will never be comfortable without a face covering again.
‘Normal’ still a long way off
It may take a while for things to get back to normal. Forty-six percent said it might take them up to a year or longer before they feel comfortable taking an overnight vacation within driving distance, compared to 32% who say they are comfortable doing so now. Another 20% say they will be comfortable taking an overnight trip over the summer. Two percent said they would never be comfortable doing so again.
Only 31% said they are comfortable eating in a restaurant, while just over half said it could take up to 12 months or longer before they reach that point. Fifty-two percent said it could take up to a year or longer before they are comfortable going to church, and 67% said the same for a live sporting event.
But those fears can be allayed, poll respondents said. Seventy-eight percent said they would be more willing to frequent a business where social distancing is enforced and employees are required to wear masks; 76% want to see a limit on how many customers are allowed in at a time; 75% said they are more likely to go if they know hand sanitizer is available and the company provides information about the safety steps they take; and 72% said it would be even better if the customers were required to be masked too.
But South Carolinians are pessimistic about the future spread of the virus. When asked to rate their feelings about the direction of the virus from 1 to 10, with a lower number being more pessimistic, 60% of South Carolinians gave their feelings a 3 or less, with 26% rating it a 0.
When asked to rate the direction of the Palmetto State’s economy, 44% rate it a 3 or less, with 16% rating it a 0. Another 38% have middling feelings about the economy, rating it between 4 and 6.
It could even change how people work long-term. Twenty-nine percent of working respondents said they had been asked to work from home during the pandemic; 60% of them said they plan to continue to work from home more even after the pandemic comes to an end.
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