Eight in 10 Americans Plan to Wear Masks When Entering Indoor Spaces Outside of Home- Poll

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th October, 2020) An overwhelming majority of Americans now embraced the use of face masks, with 80 percent saying they would be highly likely to cover their faces if entering an indoor space outside their homes, a new Gallup poll revealed on Wednesday.

"Many mask-wearers likely feel they have little choice: 78 percent of Americans say their state or local government requires them to wear a mask in public. Among this group, 81 percent say they would be highly likely to wear a mask tomorrow if out of the house and in an indoor space. Even among those who do not live in states with such requirements, 78 percent say they would be highly likely to wear a mask," a press release explaining the poll said.

Results from the last Gallup survey offer evidence that the most important factor in Americans' decisions on whether to cover their faces is accurate information about the pandemic from sources they trust, the release said.

An ongoing debate "over the politicization of face mask use," continues to influence behavior, with 74 percent of Republicans saying they were highly likely to use a mask compared with 87 percent of Democrats and 78 percent of independents, the release added.

Mask use has also become prevalent among young adults, with 63 percent of Americans age 18 to 24 saying they would be "highly likely" to wear a mask with another 24 percent saying they would be somewhat likely to wear a mask tomorrow if outside their house and in an indoor space, another 24 percent say they would be "somewhat likely" to do so.

The poll prompted Gallup to recommend that public health officials focusing on countering false information about the novel coronavirus pandemic to help Americans distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources of information in addition to solely on reaching all Americans with information about the crisis, according to the release.