Health of the People in the

Philippines in the Midst of

Pandemic

Bantigue, Katrina Joize L.

Bayay, Erika Kirsten L.
Cabalo, Beamarie D.
Gallego, Princess Devorah B.
Morado, Angel Chloe C.

Bagong Silangan High School

May 2022
 Introduction
Health is one of the most important sectors that plays a big role in the society. Overtime, many
health issues were faced in the country. In the Philippines, there are various health issues that
were faced by the health sectors such as heart failure or heart attack, as well as cancer,
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and many more. The health care availability before were easy to access,
however when the pandemic came to our country, health care availability were difficult to
access.

Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In
humans, coronaviruses cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal.

In addition, Coronaviruses constitute the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae, in the family

Coronaviridae, order Nidovirales and realm Riboviria. They are enveloped viruses with a
positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome and a nucleocapsid of helical symmetry. The
genome size of coronaviruses ranges from approximately 26 to 32 kilobases, one of the largest
among RNA viruses. They have characteristic club-shaped spikes that project from their surface,
which in electron micrographs create an image reminiscent of the solar corona, from which their
name derives.

Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2, causes

coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The virus that causes COVID-19 spreads easily among people. Data has shown that the
COVID-19 virus spreads mainly from person to person among those in close contact (within
about 6 feet, or 2 meters). The virus spreads by respiratory droplets released when someone with
the virus coughs, sneezes, breathes, sings or talks. These droplets can be inhaled or land in the
mouth, nose or eyes of a person nearby.

Sometimes the COVID-19 virus can spread when a person is exposed to very small droplets or
aerosols that stay in the air for several minutes or hours — called airborne transmission.

The virus can also spread if you touch a surface with the virus on it and then touch your mouth,
nose or eyes. But the risk is low.

The COVID-19 virus can spread from someone who is infected but has no symptoms. This is
called asymptomatic transmission. The COVID-19 virus can also spread from someone who is
infected but hasn't developed symptoms yet. This is called presymptomatic transmission.

It's possible to get COVID-19 twice or more, but this is uncommon.

Risk factors for COVID-19 appear to include:
•Close contact (within 6 feet, or 2 meters) with someone who has COVID-19
•Being coughed or sneezed on by an infected person

Body
1. To mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine national government
through its Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases outlined different
quarantine measures wherein each level has a corresponding degree of rigidity from keeping
only the essential businesses open to allowing all establishments to operate at a certain capacity.
Other measures also involve prohibiting individuals at a certain age bracket from going outside
of their homes. The local government units (LGUs)–municipalities and provinces–can adopt any
of these measures depending on the extent of the pandemic in their locality. The purpose is to
keep the number of infections and mortality at bay while minimizing the economic impact of the
pandemic. Some LGUs have demonstrated a remarkable response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. The government also encourage everyone to get their vaccines once the vaccine were
implemented. In the Philippines, 153M doses of vaccine were given, 69.1M were fully
vaccinated and 63.0% were the percentage of population that is fully vaccinated.

3. A community quarantine was initially put in place for the national capital region (NCR)
starting March 13, 2020 and it was expanded to the whole island of Luzon by March 17. The
initial quarantine was extended up to April 30.

Several quarantine protocols were then implemented based on evaluation of IATF:

• Community Quarantine (CQ) refers to restrictions in mobility between quarantined areas.

• In Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), strict home quarantine is implemented and

movement of residents is limited to access essential goods and services. Public transportation is
suspended. Only economic activities related to essential and utility services are allowed. There is
heightened presence of uniformed personnel to enforce community quarantine protocols.

• Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) is implemented as a transition phase

between ECQ and GCQ. Strict home quarantine and suspension of public transportation are still
in place. Mobility restrictions are relaxed for work-related activities. Government offices
operates under a skeleton workforce. Manufacturing facilities are allowed to operate with up to
50% of the workforce. Transportation services are only allowed for essential goods and services.

• In General Community Quarantine (GCQ), individuals from less susceptible age groups and
without health risks are allowed to move within quarantined zones. Public transportation can
operate at reduced vehicle capacity observing physical distancing. Government offices may be at
full work capacity or under alternative work arrangements. Up to 50% of the workforce in
industries (except for leisure and amusement) are allowed to work.

• Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) refers to the transition phase between GCQ
and the New Normal. All persons are allowed outside their residences. Socio-economic activities
are allowed with minimum public health standard.

Methodology & Discussion

A. Region III
The Candaba LTF emphasized that part of the municipality’s actions are the strict
implementation of zoning containment in areas where clustering of COVID-19 cases was
recorded, and the active contact tracing.

Ms. Rosanna Rosell of the Central Luzon Center for Health Development (CLCHD) presented
the result of the assessment made by the Regional Epidemiological and Surveillance Unit
(RESU) wherein it was noted the concerns and improvements to be made for the contact tracing
efforts of the LTF.

The CLCHD recommended that the LGU should ensure all symptomatic individuals will be
tested for RT-PCR since there is an ongoing transmission in the community; intensify
influenza-like-illness surveillance; maintain a buffer of 20% of all logistics to prevent stockout;
and maintain a database of close contacts for every confirmed cases with minimum health
information.

Mayor Maglanque and other local officials assured the RTF3 that Candaba will strictly
implement all national and local policies and programs, and the recommendations of the RTF in
improving the Municipality’s PDITR strategy, especially on detection and tracing.

He also highlighted the expansion of the Candaba Infirmary and the establishment of a
COVID-19 ward facility to cater to COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms.

B. Region IV-A
Region IV-A is an outlier in terms of population and working population and doctors on
quarantine. Considering their population and working population, the COVID-19 death statistics
show better results compared to other regions. Same goes with the number of doctors in the
region which are in quarantine in relation to the reported COVID-19 deaths. This shows that the
region is doing well in terms of decreasing the COVID-19 fatalities compared to other regions in
terms of populations and doctors on quarantine. Region IV-A is comprised of Batangas, Cavite,
Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal. Same with Region III, they have been under the community
lockdown since March of last year. Provinces of the region such as Rizal have been proactive in
responding to the epidemic as they have already suspended classes and distributed face masks
even before the nationwide lockdown. Despite being hit by natural calamities, the region still
continue ramping up the response to the pandemic through cash assistance, first aid kits, and
spreading awareness.

An interesting result is that NCR, the center of the country and the most densely populated, is a
good outlier in terms of GRDP (C) and GRDP (D). Cities in the region launched various
programs in order to combat the disease. They have launched mass testings with Quezon City,
Taguig City, and Caloocan City starting as early as April 2020. Pasig City started an on-the-go
market called Jeepalengke. Navotas, Malabon, and Caloocan recorded the lowest attack rate of
the virus. Caloocan city had good strategies for zoning, isolation and even in finding ways to be
more effective and efficient. Other programs also include color-coded quarantine pass, and
quarantine bands. It is also possible that NCR may just have a very high GRDP compared to
other regions.

C. Region VII
Region VII is also an outlier in terms of population density and frontliners. This means that
given the population density and the number of frontliners in the region, their COVID-related
deaths in the region is better than the rest of the country. This region consists of four provinces
(Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor) and three highly urbanized cities (Cebu City,
Lapu-Lapu City, and Mandaue City), referred to as metropolitan Cebu. This significant decline
may be explained by how the local government responded after they were placed in stricter
community quarantine measures despite the rest of the country easing in to more lenient
measures. Due to the longer and stricter quarantine in Cebu, the lockdown had a greater impact
here than in other areas where restrictions were eased earlier. Dumaguete was one of the
destinations of the first COVID case in the Philippines, their local government was able to keep
infections at bay early on. Siquijor was also COVID-19-free for 6 months
.The compounded efforts of the different provinces in the region can account for the region
being identified as an outlier.

Among the metropolitan cities, Davao came out as a good outlier in terms of population and
working population. This result may be attributed to their early campaign on consistent
communication of COVID-19-related concerns to the public.They were also able to set up
transportation for essential workers early on.

D. Possible solutions for COVID-19 not to spread wider in the Philippines

1. Implementation of Lockdowns'
2. Implementation of Vaccine
3. Implementing a wide range of Covid hotlines
4. Strict Discipline (eg., follow all the protocols such as the 6 ft. rule, wear masks, avoid people
when sneezing and coughing, etc.)
 Conclusion (Results)

Based on the results of the study, the COVID-19 has resulted in a great impact on the health of
the people in the Philippines. Every day, the number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines is
increasing, causing a series of deaths among Filipinos while others recovered luckily.

Public and health measures were implemented by the LGUs to mitigate the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic. These are strict border control, early implementation of quarantines and
lockdowns, the establishment of quarantine facilities, effective communication to the public, and
monitoring efforts.

The Philippine government urges Filipinos to get vaccines to help their immune system fight
infections like COVID-19 faster and more effectively and to protect themselves from the virus.

References

Coronavirus. (2003, March 27). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved May 26, 2022, from
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus

Coronavirus in Philippines: How the COVID-19 affects Philippines. (2020, March 31).
Pharmaceutical Technology | Drug Development News & Views Updated Daily.
https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/coronavirus-affected-countries-philippines
-measures-impact-tourism-economy/

Coronavirus vaccine Philippines statistics - Google search. (n.d.). g.co. https://g.co/kgs/n4Ff2S

COVID-19 vaccine - Google search. (n.d.). g.co. https://g.co/kgs/Z1v4FM

Diseases and conditions - Mayo Clinic. (2020, September 16). Mayo Clinic - Mayo Clinic.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions

Local government responses for COVID-19 management in the Philippines. (2021, September
21). BMC Public Health.
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-11746-0

Philippines coronavirus stats - Google search. (n.d.). Google.

https://www.google.com/search?stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgVuLVT9c3NMwySk6OL8zJec
QYzy3w8sc9YamwSWtOXmMM4BL3TU3JTM7MS3XJLE5NLE71yU9OLMnMzxOS5mJzzS
vJLKkUEpTi50I1RkiCiwOukEeKi4tDP1ffwLTMIplnFxO3R2piTklGcEliSfEiVtmCjMyczIICoA
3FCsn5Rfl5iWWZRaXFCsUgeQD7lnipoQAAAA&hl=en-PH&q=philippines+coronavirus+stats
&kgs=c5b421122e11099e

Philippines: COVID-19 cases, recoveries, and deaths. (2021, July 4). Statista.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1100765/philippines-coronavirus-covid19-cases/

Santos, J. C. (n.d.). 10. Region 3 14-28 May 2021.

https://ocd.gov.ph/index.php/civil-defense-across-the-nation/41-regionalstories/778-10-region-3-
14-28-may-2021