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Coronavirus Forcing Americans To Change Their Behavior, Survey Finds

BOSTON (CBS) -  A survey conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California finds the coronavirus is changing Americans' behavior.

They polled nearly 2,500 U.S. residents from March 10-12, around the same time when the World Health Organization declared the situation a pandemic and when celebrities began sharing that they were infected.

Since then, more stringent measures have been put into place in many regions across the country.

However, as of one week ago, 85-percent said they had been washing their hands or using hand sanitizer more frequently. Sixty-one percent said they had engaged in various forms of social distancing, most commonly avoiding contact with high-risk individuals. And 25-percent said they were avoiding restaurants in general.

It's encouraging that most Americans were taking some steps to protect themselves and their neighbors, but there were some warning signs. Not everyone was practicing better hand hygiene, and little more than half of respondents were engaging in social distancing.

The world has changed a lot in the past week, so we can only hope that those percentages have improved in recent days.

As health officials have explained, the U.S. is at a tipping point where we either follow the path of some countries that have been devastated by this virus or we successfully flatten the curve so that we can manage the crisis until it wanes.

And let this be a reminder to younger adults who may feel invincible that they are not, and that we need them to step up to help protect those who are most vulnerable.

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