Mar 24, 2020 - Economy & Business

More Americans have trouble meeting basic needs as coronavirus shutdowns expand

Data: Axios/Ipsos survey, margin of error of ±3.3 percentage points; Chart: Naema Ahmed/Axios

Nearly two-thirds of Americans say their access to household goods has worsened in the past week, a new poll from Ipsos and Axios shows.

The state of play: The second installment of the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index also finds that nearly a quarter of all respondents say their ability to afford food and household needs has worsened, up from 15% last week.

What's happening: Goods like toilet paper, hand sanitizer and basic foods have gone missing for an increasing number of people as the COVID-19 outbreak hits home and shoppers look to stock up on needed items.

What they're saying: "We are starting to see more dramatic strains on the supply chain," Chris Jackson, public polling lead at Ipsos, says in an email.

"As people realize the severity of the outbreak through bigger impacts — being asked to work from home, not eating out or seeing friends, etc. — they may be trying to get their hands on basic household goods to prepare and can’t."

Watch this space: Americans are losing their jobs at an unprecedented rate, with 22% of poll respondents reporting that they had been furloughed, suspended or told not to return to work.

Just 10% reported job separations last week.

Methodology: The poll was conducted March 20-23 by Ipsos' KnowledgePanel, based on a nationally representative probability sample of 998 general population adults age 18 or older.

The margin of sampling error is +/-3.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults.

Go deeper...Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index: Americans hit by stress, job losses

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Poll: Americans' access to necessities worsens

Data: Axios/Ipsos survey of 1,092 U.S. adults, conducted March 13-16, 2020. Margin of error of ±3.2 percentage points; Chart: Axios Visuals

Even with the brunt of store closings yet to take effect, a full 45% of Americans said last week that their ability to buy food and household goods had deteriorated, according the newly launched Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

What it is: A weekly poll introduced last week by Axios and the global research firm Ipsos will monitor the effects of the global pandemic on people's attitudes and living conditions.

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World coronavirus updates: Global cases exceed 1.5 million

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

World Health Organization’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that countries should put politics aside "if you don’t want to have many more body bags.”

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed over 87,000 people and infected 1.5 million globally as of Wednesday, per Johns Hopkins data. Global recoveries have surpassed 317,800. Spain has reported the most cases outside the U.S. (more than 146,600), while Italy has reported the most deaths (over 17,600). Half the planet's population is on lockdown.

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Public wants federal government, not states, in charge on coronavirus

Data: KFF Health Tracking Poll, March 25-30, 2020; Chart: Axios Visuals

President Trump has repeatedly said that he sees the federal government’s role as “backup” to the states on the response to coronavirus. But Americans want the federal government — not states — to take the lead, according to our latest KFF tracking poll.

Why it matters: States have so far been the ones issuing specific directives about social distancing, and are also trying to source health care supplies.

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