Coronavirus: Republican voters flock to Trump messaging and think they're less likely to get sick from Covid-19

Conservatives want to get back to business as Anthony Fauci warns of 'little spikes' in Covid-19 that officials 'might not be able to control'

Republican voters, responding to Donald Trump's messaging about Covid-19, are less and less likely to fear getting sick from the sometimes-deadly virus – and, by large numbers, the president's supporters want their states to get back to business.

Those are some of the findings of a new poll that show, predictably, major splits among Republican and Democratic voters on the seriousness of the coronavirus and what should be the priorities of state governments and the Trump administration in responding to it.

Fifty-five per cent of Republicans surveyed in the new poll are more concerned about the ongoing US economic collapse than the any public health ramifications from the virus. What's more, 43 per cent of GOP voters said they feel it is more important for governments to address the spread of Covid-19 than fix the economy – down from 65 per cent in the last version of the poll, taken last month.

On the flip side, 72 per cent of Democrats responded they are more worried about public health than the state of the economy, according to the Morning Consult-POLITICO poll.

A majority (54 per cent) of independent voters, who will have a big say in November's election, say they are more worried about public health than the economy.

Overall, a majority of Americans surveyed (56 per cent) cited public health as a bigger concern than the cratering economy.

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Yet, the poll uncovered a shift: That figure is an 8-percentage point drop from a version of the poll conducted one month ago.

Fifty-one percent of respondents said they are worried the country is opening too quickly. But when asked about their own state, 37 per cent responded too quickly, with an equal amount saying state leaders are moving at about the right speed.

The poll comes after Anthony Fauci, the federal government's top infectious disease expert, warned a Senate committee on Tuesday against opening states too soon.

He said governors should worry about "little spikes" that spawn outbreaks "you might not be able to control."

That puts him at odds with the president, who continues pushing governors to speed up their efforts to open their states. Mr Trump is banking on an economic recovery to help him win a second term come November.

"The people want to go back. The numbers are getting to a point where they can, and there just seems to be no effort on certain blue states to get back into gear. And the people aren't going to stand for it; they want to get back," Mr Trump told reporters during a Monday press conference.

"They're not going to stand for it. They want our country open," he added. "I want our country open too. I want it open safely, but I want it open."

As the virus continues to spread to rural areas, data compiled by The Johns Hopkins University shows the number of new cases each day had dropped this week before climbing to 84,500 on Tuesday, up from 75,900 new cases on Monday.