By AlaskaWatchman.com

The Alaska Dept. of Health and Social Services published the results of a new survey looking at how Alaskans view COVID and the responses taken by local, state and national governments. Conducted Nov. 24-25, the survey included 406 Alaskans ages 18 and older. It has a margin of error at plus or minus 4.9%.

The vast majority of Alaskans say the economy is headed in the wrong direction and that the “coronavirus situation in Alaska” is serious.

While 72% say they wear a face mask all or most of the time, residents are split over whether Gov. Mike Dunleavy should impose a statewide mask mandate – 50% yes vs. 49% no.

With regards to temporarily shutting down bars, restaurants, health clubs and certain retail outlets to address COVID, 55% support this while 44% do not.

Only 1% of 406 respondents (about five people) say they were infected by COVID. Of these 51% had mild symptoms, 33% severe and 7% no symptoms at all. Two out of three people say they will get the COVID vaccine.

When it comes to finding reliable information, only 41% trust the media to give them accurate news about the virus, while 58% don’t. Along those lines, 89% say the virus has been “politicized.”

In terms of education, 36% of respondents with school age children say they now homeschool and 43% of these say it is not “mainly due to the ongoing coronavirus saturation.”

Click here to see complete survey results.

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State survey gives snapshot on how Alaskans view COVID situation

Joel Davidson
Joel is Editor-in-Chief of the Alaska Watchman. Joel is an award winning journalist and has been reporting for over 20 years, He is a proud father of 8 children, and lives in Palmer, Alaska.