Poll: Two-thirds of Americans say life is at least somewhat back to pre-pandemic normal

Two-thirds of US adults now say their lives are at least somewhat back to normalcy, according to a new Gallup survey, reflecting a major shift in sentiments since last fall. Americans are more optimistic and less worried about coronavirus than at any point previously in the course of the pandemic, although disruptions due to the virus -- and partisan divides over its impact -- persist.

A 66% majority of Americans, the poll finds, now say that their lives have at least partially returned to a pre-pandemic normal. Of that, just 9% say things are completely back to normal, but another 57% say that things are somewhat back to normal. Another 34% say things haven't yet gone back to normal. For comparison, in October, 62% of the public said that their lives hadn't gone back to normal. There are few notable demographic divides on whether things are edging back toward normalcy, according to Gallup, with similar results across gender, age, regional and financial lines. There are, however, clear partisan differences. Last fall, Republicans were 46 percentage points likelier than Democrats to say things were at least somewhat back to normal. That gap has narrowed with Democrats' improving outlook, but Republicans are still 20 percentage points more likely than Democrats to say things are at least somewhat normal.