Gallup: Americans more concerned with getting COVID-19 than economic fallout
By Danielle Haynes

A healthcare worker with George Washington University Hospital administers a COVID-19 test during the coronavirus pandemic in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

April 21 (UPI) -- The coronavirus pandemic tops the list of the most important problems facing Americans, a poll released Tuesday indicates.

The Gallup poll found that 45 percent of Americans find COVID-19 to be the biggest problem facing the United States, up from 13 percent in March. The pollster didn't ask about the virus prior to the March survey.

The second-most important problem facing the United States is the government and poor leadership at 20 percent, down from 27 percent in March. The government was the top concern in February with 32 percent.

The remaining responses were healthcare and the economy in general at 6 percent each; unifying the country and unemployment at 3 percent each; and immigration, the environment/climate change/pollution, ethics/morals, lack of respect for each other, the media, and the gap between rich and poor at 2 percent each.

Concerns about unemployment rose from 1 percent in February to 3 percent in April, while immigration dropped from 8 percent in February to 2 percent in April.

While economic and job concerns have risen since February, the poll results indicate Americans are more concerned with getting the virus than the financial fallout from the pandemic, Gallup said.

"Since February, mentions of the economy or unemployment have ticked up slightly. But even with unemployment soaring, economic confidence tumbling, and seven in 10 Americans saying the U.S. economy is in a recession or depression, government is seen as more of a problem than the economy," the pollster said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there were more than 816,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, with a death toll of at least 43,000, according to Johns Hopkins University