Restrictions ease in many parts of the country and vaccination numbers continue to rise. With that, concern about being in public spaces has reached an all-time low. Fifty-one percent of U.S. adults are “not at all concerned” about being in public but another half still have some level of concern. 

Uncertainty about how long social distancing practices will continue remains high, while an increasing percentage of people expect that window to be as narrow as 1-3 weeks.

Comfort returning to various activities in public is continuing to improve, too. Right now, 80% of consumers say they’re comfortable shopping in stores (for items other than groceries) which is the highest observed percentage to date. This is also the case for many other categories. 

Summer Travel Outlook 

Comfort traveling also increased to a high point, Two-thirds of U.S. adults say they’d feel safe/comfortable traveling or going on a vacation right now.  While the percentage of people who say they won’t feel comfortable doing so for six months or more is on the decline, 15% of U.S. adults still say they won’t travel until then.  

Airports could be bustling even more this summer. Roughly 1 in 5 people say they’ll fly somewhere in the next month and another 41% will travel by train, car, or bus in the next month. 

Dining & Entertainment Resurgence 

More and more people are becoming comfortable with going to restaurants as well – an activity previously considered riskier because of a lack of indoor mask-wearing. However, things are looking better for restaurants. Comfort dining out has reached a high point this week, with more than 7-in-10 adults expressing comfort doing so right now.  

Comfort attending major public events – like summer concerts and sporting events – has also increased significantly this week, with 55% expressing comfort doing so right now.  

With summer in full swing, we’ll be tracking how comfort levels are impacted. Want to stay up to date with CivicScience’s weekly COVID-19 Impact Report? Sign up to receive the latest insights and up-to-the-minute data here.