At the same time, Americans anticipate that the nation’s return to “normal” may be a longer, slower process than first imagined. This may have sunk in for many as governors across the country outlined steps for reopening their states on a gradual basis, with careful monitoring of the illness and the reinstatement of stricter social distancing measures if necessary. Meanwhile, other states have extended stay-at-home orders for several weeks.

When asked how long they think the “disruption occurring to travel, school, work and public events in the U.S. will continue before it begins to improve,” 13% of Americans in Gallup’s first tracking period (from March 13-15) imagined that it would last for the rest of this year or longer. That figure inched up to 25% by the week of March 30-April 5, to 30% by April 13-19 — and stands at 37% now.

Meanwhile, the percentage of Americans predicting that this level of disruption will continue for only a few more weeks has declined by 15 percentage points, from 37% to 22%. Those expecting it to last a few more months is down nine points, from 50% to 41%.