Hold the Damn Phone, Americans Actually Confident in Gov’t Ebola Response
by Evan McMurry | 9:20 am, October 28th, 2014
As the number of ebola cases in the U.S. dwindled to one Tuesday, a new CNN/ORC poll found the American public surprisingly confident in the federal government’s response to the virus in the U.S.
54% of those surveyed said the government had done a good job in handling the virus, while 71% were confident the government could prevent a widespread outbreak — somewhat contradicting the punditry that decried the public’s despair in the face of institutional failures.
This might have to do with calming fears over catching the virus. In a Washington Post poll conducted exactly two weeks ago, 43% believed they or a family member could contract the virus. In the CNN poll, however, only 7% believed that likely to happen.* Respondents believed that there would be a new case of ebola in the U.S. within the next few weeks, but did not think it likely to occur in their area.
Meanwhile, Americans still overwhelmingly favor screening travelers from west Africa, though more so of non-U.S. citizens, but vastly preferred screening to an all-out travel ban, a preference more in line with recommendations from the medical science community.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/hold-the-damn-phone-americans-actually-confident-in-govt-ebola-response/
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