Why are Covid-19 cases rising in US? Republicans blame testing but Democrats point to new infections, finds study
Six in 10 Americans said the increase in Covid-19 tally is due to more infections and not merely because of more testing, and yet, Republicans and Democrats are divided on the topic, a new survey suggests. In addition to political affiliation, opinions varied among people belonging to different races and education levels.
In June, as cases were climbing in the US, Donald Trump blamed it on more testing and requested for slower screening. "When you test, you create cases," he told reporters at a White House press conference in July. Several public health experts have since countered the president's statement, explaining that rising cases were due to the infection picking up its pace. Meanwhile, the US continues to lead the world with more than five million cases and more than 171,000 deaths.
The Pew Research Center surveyed 11,001 American adults from July 27 to August 2. While 60% of Americans believed the cases were rising due to a higher prevalence of Covid-19, 39% of the participants said that more cases were due to more testing. About 62% of Republicans and Republic-leaning independents supported Trump's stance.
The survey recorded some differences among Republican supporters. About 68% of people who identified themselves as conservative Republicans believed that more testing was the culprit. By contrast, only 53% of moderate and liberal supporters of the grand old party held the same view.
On the flip side, 80% of the Democrats, including those inclined to support the party, said "the primary reason for the recent increase in confirmed Covid-19 cases is that there are more new infections, not just more tests," Pew Research Center said. Among them, 90% of liberal Democrats were more likely to hold the view than the moderates and conservatives.
As for the educational background, about 71% of adults with a bachelor’s degree or more noted that the recent increase in confirmed cases was down to more infections and not just more testing. And about 54% of those with some college or less education agreed. "In both partisan coalitions, those with at least a bachelor’s degree are more likely than those without to attribute the rise in confirmed cases primarily to more infections," they said.
The poll found some differences among races and ethnic groups. Black (66%), Hispanic (67%) and English-speaking Asian Americans (72%) were more likely to believe the rise was due to more disease spread and not only testing than White Americans (55%).
In July, STAT carried out an analysis of all the 50 states. According to the results, only seven states had more cases being reported due to more testing. For 26 others, it was due to rising infections. An analysis in The New York Times also contradicted Trump's statement. In early July, the positive test rate was 4.8%, which should have fallen as testing grew. "Instead, the positive test rate has nearly doubled, and more than 66,000 cases are now reported each day," their July results showed. "More tests are being conducted, but more are coming back positive, driving case counts even higher."