COVID-19

More Filipinos fear worst of pandemic ‘is yet to come’ – SWS

Bonz Magsambol

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More Filipinos fear worst of pandemic ‘is yet to come’ – SWS

PANDEMIC-HIT PH. Individuals line up as they apply for a job at an employment agency along Commonwealth Ave in Quezon City on Tuesday, March 23, 2021.

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Based on the latest SWS survey, 49% of Filipinos believe the worst is yet to come in relation to the pandemic – higher than the 31% who expressed the same view in November 2020

More Filipinos fear that “the worst is yet to come” in relation to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Social Weather Station (SWS) survey conducted in early May and released on Thursday, June 3.

The survey results showed that 49% of Filipinos believe that “the worst is yet to come” in relation to the COVID-19 crisis – 18 points higher than the 31% who said the same in the November 2020 SWS survey.

More Filipinos fear worst of pandemic ‘is yet to come’ – SWS

The number of Filipinos who are pessimistic about the pandemic situation is slightly higher than a year before, when 47% expressed the same sentiment in the May 2020 survey.

The latest survey showed that 50% of Filipinos believe that “the worst is behind us” in terms of the pandemic, 19 points lower than the 69% who expressed the same upbeat sentiment in November 2020.

The survey was conducted frm April 28 to May 2, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults, as the country experienced a record-breaking surge in COVID-19 infections.

Pessimism highest in Luzon

“The percentage of those fearing ‘the worst is yet to come’ with the COVID-19 crisis is highest in Balance Luzon (54%), followed by Metro Manila (50%), the Visayas (49%), and Mindanao (38%),” the SWS report said.

Graph from SWS

Metro Manila is still considered the epicenter of the pandemic in the country, but experts have noted an increasing trend of infections outside the capital region. (READ: DOH flags increase in COVID-19 cases across Philippines)

The SWS survey also showed that 89% of Filipinos are still worried about catching the coronavirus though this is 2 points below the 91% who expressed this concern in November 2020.

The SWS report noted that the fear of catching COVID-19 remains high in all areas in the country. “The percentage of those a great deal/somewhat worried about catching COVID-19 stays highest in the Visayas (92%), followed by Mindanao (90%), Balance Luzon (88%), and Metro Manila (85%).”

A year into the pandemic, the Philippines is still struggling to contain the deadly virus that has so far killed over 21,000 and has infected over 1.1 million of its population.

So far, less than a percent of the country’s population have been fully vaccinated. – Rappler.com

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Bonz Magsambol

Bonz Magsambol covers the Philippine Senate for Rappler.