According to a recent survey conducted by HealthCareInsider on American perceptions on the pandemic’s end, Americans are split about when and how the country will return to normal in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When asked when life may return to normal, the greatest number of Americans, 21%, said summer 2021. But a total of 49% selected either fall 2021 (18%), winter 2021 (11%), or 2022 or later (20%). 13% said they never expect life to return to normal, but 11% were optimistic it would return to as it was before the pandemic as soon as spring 2021.
The survey also asked respondents about when they’d feel comfortable resuming specific activities of normal life, including drinking and dining indoors. 16% of respondents favored returning to drinking and dining indoors in summer 2021. Males (14%) are 40% more likely than females (10%) to feel comfortable drinking and dining indoors in spring 2021. Millennials (14%) are almost 30% more likely than Baby Boomers (11%) to feel comfortable drinking and dining indoors in spring 2021. And when it comes to race, white respondents (29%) are more likely than Black (22%) or Hispanic respondents (17%) to say they already feel comfortable drinking and dining indoors.
Region also makes a difference when choosing whether or not to dine indoors. People in the Midwest (29%) and South (27%) are more likely than people in the Northeast (25%) or West (22%) to say they already feel comfortable drinking and dining indoors.
Income and education level are also influencing factors. People without a high school diploma (14%) or with only a high school diploma (13%) are more likely than college grads (9%) or post-grads (8%) to feel comfortable drinking and dining indoors in spring 2021. People with incomes over $80k (9%) are almost twice more likely than those with incomes under $40k (5%) to cite drinking and dining indoors as an activity they look forward to when the pandemic ends.
When asked to choose which pandemic trends they think are here to stay, the greatest number of respondents (26%) said working from home, while only 4% said outdoor dining was the trend most likely to continue.
