Fewer than 1 in 4 now practicing strict social distancing: poll

Fewer than 1 in 4 Americans are practicing strict distancing as the number of people vaccinated increases and COVID-19 restrictions ease, according to a new Gallup poll published on Monday. 

Twenty-two percent of Americans surveyed said that they are completely or mostly isolating from other people, 40 percent said in the poll that they are still partially isolating from others and 38 percent said they make no attempt to isolate themselves from others. 

The percentage of respondents who said they are attempting to socially distance is down from 30 percent in April and 48 percent in January, according to Gallup. 

Forty-four percent of Americans said that they will continue to avoid large gatherings, which is the lowest since 72 percent said the same in January. 

Forty percent said in the Gallup poll they would still avoid traveling by air or road, 34 percent said they avoided public places in general and 26 percent said they would not attend small gatherings with family and friends. 

Mask wearing has gone down as well, with 79 percent of Americans saying that they have worn a mask in the past week, according to the poll. 

This comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidelines in May allowing fully vaccinated people to not wear masks and practice social distancing. 

The Gallup poll was based on probability-based web panel surveys conducted May 18-23.