Wyomingites are reporting that they feel more anxious about the coronavirus pandemic and its spread, according to a recent survey by the University of Wyoming’s Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center.
Over one-third of Wyomingites surveyed said they are very or fairly anxious about the spread of the coronavirus in the state, an increase of 7 percentage points from September, but still 4 points less than the Aug. 10 survey.
Another 20% said they are somewhat anxious about the spread in Wyoming, while just over 40% of surveyed Wyoming residents said they are not at all anxious about the spread in the state.
The survey was conducted Oct. 6, around the time Wyoming was in the early stages of the current COVID-19 surge.
“Despite an increase in anxiety surrounding COVID-19 in Wyoming, we see self-reported facemask use remain steady at just over 60% of the state population,” Brian Harnisch, senior research scientist in charge of the project at WYSAC, said. “This compares to roughly 85% of the national population that say they have worn a mask or covering all or most of the time when in stores or other businesses.”
Just over one-third of the surveyed respondents believed the worst is yet to come in the United States, but 39% say the worst is yet to come in Wyoming, an increase of 10 percentage points since September.
Only 17% of the surveyed respondents think the worst is behind us, a decrease of 9 points.
A majority of the respondents, 53%, of Wyoming residents say they have confidence in the Wyoming health care system to handle the response to the virus, while 29% say they do not have confidence.
This survey is the ninth of multiple surveys WYSAC is conducting to measure public opinion on a number of topics related to the coronavirus.
A total of 505 Wyoming residents participated in the survey representing all Wyoming counties, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
