Nearly 90 percent of Americans say they wear face masks in public places as coronavirus cases increase in some states, according to a new ABC News / Ipsos poll released on Thursday.
Eighty-nine percent of Americans said they wore a face mask while out in public the past week, and 11 percent said they did not. An ABC News / Ipsos from mid-April showed at the time that only 69 percent of Americans said they wore masks in public.
Despite the poll numbers, only 18 states require citizens to wear masks in public, so for most people who wear one, it’s voluntary. It is unclear from the survey whether respondents claimed to wear masks every time they went out or only at one point in the past week.
Public health officials have urged the public to wear masks when social distancing is not possible. This has become more emphasized in the past few weeks as more states begin to open and some public events return.
The survey also found that 56 percent of Americans think the economy is reopening too quickly, compared to 15 percent earlier this month.
The survey also found that more people hesitate to go to public events or crowded spaces, which public health officials discourage.
Only 21 percent of respondents said they would be willing to attend a large meeting, compared to 29 percent in mid-April.
Seventy-six percent of Americans say they are concerned about being infected with the coronavirus, up from 69 percent in early June.
The survey surveyed 579 adults in the general population on June 24 and 25 and reported a margin of error of 4.7 percentage points.
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