William Cummings | USA TODAY

Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

Although protesters in several states have demonstrated in recent days against social distancing measures aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus, a strong majority support the measures, according to two new polls.

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll published Sunday found that 58% of voters said they were concerned the measures might be lifted too soon, risking a second wave of outbreaks, compared with 32% who were more concerned the measures would stay in place, risking further economic hardship.

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The willingness to tolerate the stay-at-home orders was fueled by the level of concern about the pandemic, which 38% said was a more significant tragedy than Pearl Harbor, President John Kennedy's assassination, the 9/11 terrorist attacks or the Great Recession.

The poll found that 40% personally knew someone who had been infected and 77% were at least somewhat worried that someone in their immediate family might get COVID-19. And 77% said the pandemic had changed their life in a "major way." Just 3% said it had not affected them at all.

And few thought the social distancing measures would be lifted anytime soon. Only 3% told pollsters the country was ready to reopen now, while 15% said it would be ready in the next few weeks. But 45% thought it would be at least a matter of months and 25% said it might not happen until next year.

Voters were supportive of the government's aggressive actions to lessen the economic impact of the shutdowns caused by the outbreak, which included a massive $2.2. trillion rescue package. Sixty-three percent said they approved of the federal government's expanded role and 30% disapproved.

Half of the respondents said they were satisfied with the job the government had done to contain the infection, compared with 48% who were not satisfied. And 49% were satisfied with what the government had done for those hurt economically by the crisis, compared with 44% who were not.

When it came to providing the tools to fight the virus, however, voters were not happy. Sixty-two percent were unhappy with the government's job in providing medical equipment such as ventilators and protective gear, and 64% were dissatisfied with the availability of testing for the virus.

A 52% majority disapproved of President Donald Trump's handling of the outbreak while 44% approved of the job he did. And looking forward to the 2020 election, voters trusted the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, to handle the coronavirus, 45%-36%, over Trump. When it came it the economy they trusted Trump over Biden, 47%-36%.

A survey from Harvard University's Center for American Political Studies and The Harris Poll found that 56% of voters thought the social distancing measures were "reasonable" while 31% said they were not strict enough. Just 13% said the orders were "too strict." Three-quarters of voters said a full shutdown had been necessary and 73% thought the governors' orders were constitutional, compared with 27% who didn't.

Eighty percent of voters in that poll said those mitigation measures were working and 64% said they needed to stay in place. When asked how much longer they thought stay-at-home orders would be necessary, 79% thought it would be at least another month.

But then asked whether minimizing the spread of infection should be the top priority or if there should be a balance with economic concerns, 58% said it was necessary to reach a balance.

The Harvard-Harris poll was conducted from April 14-16. The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll was conducted from April 13-15 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.27 percentage points.

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