Wyoming residents surveyed by the University of Wyoming remain divided over whether the coronavirus is a real threat or has been blown out of proportion.
The survey conducted by the university’s Survey and Analysis Center showed that of the 505 people taking part in the center’s Oct. 6 survey, 47.3% believe coronavirus is a real threat, an increase of 2 percentage points from September.
Meanwhile, 45.5% felt the threat from the virus has been blown out of proportion, a decline of 2% from September.
The survey, with a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points, is the ninth focusing on coronavirus-related issues conducted by the center since March.
Early on in the pandemic, in March, 63.8% of those questioned felt coronavirus was a real threat and only 24.2% felt it had been blown out of proportion.
On other topics, the survey showed that while a majority of those questioned support the way Gov. Mark Gordon is handling the coronavirus, a growing number disapprove.
Of those questioned, 59.5% either strongly or somewhat approve of Gordon’s actions while 34.8% somewhat or strongly disapprove, an increase of 5.5% from September. During the same period, those who strongly or somewhat approve of Gordon’s actions declined by 7.3%.
Gordon’s approval ratings are still higher than the number strongly or somewhat approving of the actions of President Donald Trump (54.5%) or Congress (18.5%).
However, the highest level of support was expressed for the job of local officials and health officers, which won approval from 63.9% of those questioned.
