Published: June 15, 2020
By: Maria Marsh, LSU Manship School News Service
Two LSU professors released surveys June 8 showing that Louisiana residents have conflicted feelings about the reopening of the state and the risks of various activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seventy-five percent of respondents reported feeling uncomfortable about attending large sports or entertainment events, and 77 percent were uncomfortable getting on an airplane. Sixty percent were nervous about eating in a restaurant, and 56 percent were reluctant to go to barber shops or hair salons.
However, the majority of the same respondents reported feeling comfortable with different social activities that many people did not stop doing during the pandemic. Sixty-seven percent of respondents reported feeling comfortable going to grocery stores and 58 percent felt comfortable socializing with friends.
The survey also showed that 42 percent of Louisiana residents know someone who has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and 23 percent knew someone who died from the virus.
The survey also found a racial imbalance.
Forty-nine of Black respondents reported knowing someone who tested positive for the virus, while only 39 percent of white respondents knew someone who tested positive. Forty percent of black respondents knew someone who had died from the virus, while only 17 percent of their white counterparts knew someone who died from it.
Read more at The Louisiana Weekly
LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau 