Fewer Americans Than Ever Want Mask Mandates, Poll Finds

Topline

Fewer than half of Americans are regularly wearing masks and want states and cities to require them, a new Axios/Ipsos poll finds—the lowest share since they started polling the questions—even as a new rise in Covid-19 cases across the country means mask mandates are starting to get reimposed.

Students wearing masks on March 7, in New York City.

China News Service via Getty Images

Key Facts

The poll, conducted April 8-11 among 1,043 U.S. adults, found only 44% support their state or city requiring masks to be worn in all public places.

That’s the first time that number has dipped below 50% since Ipsos started asking the question in August 2021, the pollster noted, and is down from 50% in March and 67% when Covid-19 cases were surging in January.

Only 44% are always or sometimes wearing a mask when they leave their homes—the lowest figure recorded since Ipsos started polling the question in April 2020, and down from 53% in March and 73% in January.

Just 6% said they support the U.S. increasing restrictions like mask or vaccine mandates.

A slightly higher share of 45% support their employer requiring masks in the workplace, while a slight 51% majority still support mask mandates in their local school district.

Only 15% of respondents said their local governments require masks right now and 22% said the same of their workplaces, down from 27% and 39% a month ago, respectively.

What To Watch For

Most Americans say they’re likely to get back on board with masks if cases in their area significantly rise again. The poll found 71% of respondents will probably mask up again if cases increase, including 50% who are very likely to wear a mask and 21% who are somewhat likely. That’s still down from 73% in March, however, when 53% were very likely to wear masks again.

Big Number

9%. That’s the share of respondents who said Covid-19 is a “serious crisis” in the U.S. right now, while a 73% majority think it’s “a problem, but manageable.” The poll broadly found respondents are getting back to normal activities as a result, with 65% reporting going out to a restaurant in the past week and 66% seeing family or friends. Only 34% said they had social distanced by staying home and avoiding others and just 11% reported taking a Covid-19 test in the past week.

Key Background

Mask mandates were dropped nationwide as Covid-19 cases declined following the omicron variant surge over the winter. After a period of steady decline and remaining flat, U.S. cases are now starting to slightly tick up again amid the spread of the highly transmissible omicron BA.2 subvariant, which is causing cases to rise in areas like New York City and Washington, D.C. The rise in cases is starting to prompt a wave of mask mandates being reimposed, with Philadelphia becoming the first major city to put its mask requirement back in place Monday and a growing number of universities asking students to mask up again. The Biden administration is also weighing whether to keep its federal mask mandate for airplanes and public transportation in place after it expires on April 18, which White House Covid-19 Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said Monday was “absolutely” still a possibility.

Contra

Not all officials are likely to reintroduce mask mandates, particularly if the current uptick in cases doesn’t become a full-blown surge and cause hospitalizations and deaths to rise. “We’re nowhere near the levels we were at and I don’t anticipate—I’ll say it even more strongly—I’d be shocked if we put a mandate like that in place in New Jersey,” the state’s Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said Monday when asked about Philadelphia’s mask order.

Fewer Americans Than Ever Want Mask Mandates, Poll Finds — Despite Uptick In Cases