New Jerseyans weigh in on outbreak’s impact

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on the day-to-day lifestyles of New Jersey citizens.

In a joint project, Rutgers University School of Communication & Information; The Network Science Institute of Northeastern University; and The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy of Harvard University surveyed 22,912 individuals across 50 states plus the District of Columbia from April 17-26.

Among the questions survey recipients were asked: Have you or someone in your household experienced any of the following as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak?

Here are some of the key takeaways from the New Jersey respondents.

When it comes to fear of losing their livelihood, 30 percent said they are very concerned about losing their jobs.

Fifty-percent said they somewhat agree they are well-informed about the current state of the COVID-19 outbreak, while 52 percent feel well-informed about steps to take protect themselves from the virus.

Seventy-nine percent said they strongly approve of potential decisions in the next 30 days that federal, state and local governments could take to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to ask people to stay at home.

Seventy-eight percent approved of potential decisions in the next 30 days that federal, state and local governments could take to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to cancel sports and entertainment events.

Forty percent of respondents said they had to start working from home, 33 percent had their university closed, 8 percent had to stop or scale back work to take care of their children, and 3 percent had to stop or scale back work to take care of someone who had COVID-19.

Nineteen percent of respondents to the survey had to take a cut in pay due to reduced hours or demand for their work while 23 percent were laid off or lost a job.

Nationally, according to survey results, more than 80 percent of Americans support closing non-essential businesses. Support for limiting restaurants, closing schools, canceling sporting and entertainment events, and group gatherings that exceed 90 percent.