Poll: 74% have been mostly or completely isolating themselves since March 27

As reported in previous Gallup articles, the majority of Americans (74%) have been mostly or completely isolating themselves from people outside their household since March 27, but isolation falls to 67% for workers, as opposed to 84% of nonworkers. Only 3% of adults and 4% of workers have not made any attempt to isolate themselves.

As with subjective reports of isolation, the mean number of total contacts with nonhousehold members is much larger for those who are working. Workers generate roughly 10 additional contacts per day compared with nonworkers (13.9 versus 4)…

Those who say they have made no attempt to isolate themselves generate a mean of 51.9 contacts and a median of 30. These are dramatically higher numbers than those for people who have either mostly or completely isolated themselves. Mean contacts for those who have mostly isolated themselves are 5.4, with a median of 2. Mean contacts are under 2 for those who report completely isolating themselves. It is possible that at least some respondents interpret this item as indicating their level of effort at avoiding contacts. Eighty percent of people who report completely isolating themselves report zero contacts, but others generate contacts through work or going to the store that they may regard as involuntary. Only 8% of people who say they made no attempt to isolate themselves report zero contacts. In any case, these comparisons suggest that isolation through social distancing could generate reductions in contact on the order of 90% or higher, though there are several reasons to be cautious in drawing this conclusion.