The Great Mask Debate: How Illinois Residents Feel About Them

ILLINOIS — While the debate over wearing masks and face coverings continues to rage on social media — with some saying being required to wear a mask to help protect others from the coronavirus infringes on their freedom — most of the more than 11,000 people who responded to Patch's informal survey Tuesday overwhelmingly supported wearing masks in public. Most readers who responded went as far as to say that businesses should refuse entry to those not wearing masks.

Tuesday's Patch survey was not meant to be a scientific poll, with random sampling and margins of error, but was meant only to gauge the sentiments of our readers in an informal way. But a more formal New York Times/Siena College poll also showed that most people were in favor of wearing a mask in public when social distancing cannot be maintained.

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"The public also does not share Mr. Trump’s resistance to mask wearing," the article notes. "The president has declined to don a mask in nearly all public appearances, even as top health officials in his administration have urged Americans to do so as a precaution against spreading the coronavirus. In the poll, 54 percent of people said they always wear a mask when they expect to be in proximity to other people, while another 22 percent said they usually wear a mask."

State and national health officials say wearing a mask or face covering can help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, especially when worn by asymptomatic patients who are not aware they have the coronavirus.

In Illinois, residents had strong feelings on the mask debate, and Patch's survey got more than 11,000 responses and more than 540 comments.

Readers overwhelmingly said they wear masks in public, with more than 72 percent saying they don a mask "always or nearly always" when out in public. Just 9.5 percent said they wear masks less than half the time in public, and less than 7 percent say they near wear masks.

As for how often their friends, neighbors and those they encounter in public wear masks, reader responses were slightly different, with only 28.5 percent saying they see others wear masks always or nearly always when social distancing cannot be maintained. Forty-two percent of readers said they see others wearing masks more than half the time in public and 21.4 percent see others wearing them about half the time. Less than 1 percent say they "never" see others wearing masks.

Way more than half of those who responded — 72.4 percent — said they believe businesses, including retailers and restaurants, should refuse entry to patrons who do not wear a mask.

Last week, the Illinois State Board of Education strongly recommended that schools fully reopen in the fall, with mask requirements for both students and staff. Patch readers seemed to be on board with that recommendation, with 36.1 percent of readers saying masks should be required "all the time" in schools when they reopen, and another 40.6 percent saying masks should be worn in schools, but only when social distancing cannot be maintained. But there were still some — 23.3 percent — who did not think masks should be worn in schools.

Meanwhile, 33.6 percent of Patch readers who responded said they would consider keeping their children home from school if masks are not required when in-person instruction resumes in the fall. Another 32.2 percent said they weren't sure if they might keep their kids home, and 34.1 percent said they would not consider keeping their children home from school, masks or no masks.

Most readers — more than 77 percent — said they have not and do not know anyone who has tested positive for the coronavirus. Nearly 20 percent said they have or know someone who has had the virus, and the rest said they preferred not to answer.

As far as their level of fear of the virus, most had a middle-of-the-road response. Asked how afraid they are of getting the coronavirus on a scale of 1 to 5, 28.3 percent of readers rated their fear at a 3. Just 16 percent rated it at a 5.

And, for the most part, just like they did in a previous Patch survey, readers seemed to feel state and local authorities have been doing a good job handling the uncharted territories of the pandemic.

Asked to rate how well officials have responded to the coronavirus on a scale of 1 to 5 — 1 being worst and 5 being best — more than 56 percent rated state and local officials' performance a 4 or a 5. Just 15.2 percent gave officials the lowest rating of 1, more than 10 percent rated them at a 2, and 18.4 percent gave them a 3.

IL Patch Coronavirus Survey: Trump In Disfavor, Job Losses Pinch

In late April, 61 percent of Illinois Patch readers expressed a positive view of the state's handling of the coronavirus crisis, and about the same proportion approved of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's performance.