This is what 70% of Sacramento residents say is the worst part of the COVID-19 crisis
A poll of Sacramento city residents has found that 93% support the government requiring people to wear masks in public to reduce the spread of coronavirus, an increase from a similar poll two months earlier.
Nearly 30% of residents say they or someone in their household has had COVID-19 symptoms since January. However, only 2% went on to get tests that confirmed they indeed did have the virus, a statistic that suggests the city has a ways to go in figuring out how many people have been infected.
The worst part of the virus? Simply not knowing when the pandemic and its social, economic and emotional upheaval will end, 70% of survey respondents say.
Those findings come from a voluntary online poll conducted by the city of Sacramento in early August of 1,200 residents and 127 businesses. City Auditor Jorge Oseguera will report the findings to the City Council tonight to help guide it in its ongoing effort to respond to the most pervasive health crisis in Sacramento and the nation.
“Many of us were hoping this pandemic would be over sooner, but it’s clear we are going to be in this for the long haul,” Oseguera said. “This provides the council with information to help them to refine their approach to handling this pandemic.”
Overall, 99% of people who took the survey say their lives have been disrupted in some way by the pandemic, which first hit here in March and just passed the six-month mark.
And while 59% percent approve of the state of California’s generally assertive and hands-on handling of the virus, only 13% say the Trump administration and Congress are doing a good job.
Notably, survey respondents were self-selected, not random, Oseguera said, meaning the margin of error could be up to 6% on any given question. The respondent group skewed toward more college educated and higher income earners than the city population in general.
More support masks to fight COVID-19
The 93% mask approval rate is higher than an earlier city survey in June that had public comfort levels in the mid to low 80s, Oseguera said, offering evidence that as the summer wore on, more people concluded that mask-wearing is important.
The percentage also is higher as well than a recent Harvard University national survey, which found that slightly less than 80 percent of U.S. residents support government rules requiring masks.
Those local and national numbers indicate mask acceptance is higher than is typically portrayed in news media reports, which tend to focus on disputes about mask-wearing.
California is among the majority of states that have mask mandates, typically requiring people to wear masks when entering stores, restaurants and other public places. Sacramento County similarly has a mask mandate.
Sacramento County Health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said the real challenge, though, is turning that support into constant action, especially as flu season arrives.
“We know face coverings work,” she said. “This is how we are going to get to lower infection numbers to allow us to open schools and more businesses.”
“We are dependent on businesses complying,” she said. “For the most part, they are. Some are struggling.”
The county and Sierra Health Foundation just launched a 25-person team of “business navigators” who will drop in on small businesses to educate them on how to comply with state and county COVID rules, including requiring mask wearing.
A key portion of the survey focused on what residents believe they need from the city in the coming months of the pandemic:
- 84% said they need access to timely and accurate information about COVID.
- 80% cited support for small businesses.
- 75% said enforcement of safety orders, such as social distancing.
- 71% said uninterrupted police, fire and medical emergency response services.
- 64% said mental health services are key.
The survey also found:
- Three-quarters of city residents want local officials to enforce the COVID-19 safety guidelines.
- One-third of city businesses report they are shut down because of the pandemic. And 40% say they cut staffing significantly.
- 60% of businesses report their sales are down by at least half.
- 61% say they have lost income during the pandemic.
- 19% say they have gotten unemployment checks during the pandemic
- Half of city residents report a “serious” level of anxiety and a sense of loneliness and isolation.