72% of Americans say their lives upended by virus: Poll

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Roughly three in four Americans say their lives have been upended by the novel coronavirus as measures tighten in the U.S. to prevent the surge of cases, according to a poll released on Friday.

The ABC News/Ipsos poll revealed the number of people who think their lives have been disrupted in some way by the coronavirus increased with a massive 46-point leap from last week and hit 72%.

However, the majority of Americans, 55%, approves President Donald Trump's management of health crisis, while 43% disapprove. Last week, Trump's approval rate on the issue was nearly reversed of the current data -- 43% approved and 54% disapproved.

Also, a significant increase was seen at the percentage of people who are working from home in a week, jumping from %3 to 17%. Still, 36% of Americans say they are working from their regular workspace.

The poll was conducted on March 18-19 in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 512 adults. Results have a margin of sampling error of 5.0 points, including the design effect.

Trump declared a national emergency last Friday and signed a multibillion-dollar emergency aid package, estimated at $105 billion, late Wednesday to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

The package includes free COVID-19 testing and paid family and sick leave for many Americans who otherwise lack such benefits.

The Trump administration also announced the restriction of all travel from Europe last week to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The death toll from coronavirus in the U.S. has risen to 205 by Friday, while there are over 14,200 confirmed cases, according to figures compiled by John Hopkins University in Maryland.

In all, 121 people diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered from the disease so far.