Last month, more than three in four Americans expressed confidence in the government to handle an outbreak of coronavirus, reflecting a higher level of confidence than Gallup has found for the government’s ability to handle previous health scares.

But this level of confidence in the government’s ability has dropped substantially, to the current level of 61% of Americans saying they are “very” (24%) or “somewhat confident” (37%). The overall drop reflects large decreases in confidence among independents and particularly Democrats. Now, less than half of Democrats express confidence in the government’s ability to handle an outbreak.

Meanwhile, Republicans’ confidence in the government’s ability remains as high as it was in February, with nearly nine in 10 saying they are very or somewhat confident.