PHILIPPINES— Majority of Filipinos hope the worst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis is over, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed.
The 2021 Fourth Quarter Survey showed that 80 percent of the respondents believe “the worst was behind us,” surpassing the previous record of 69 percent in the Fourth Quarter Survey in November.
It was also higher by 42 percent than the previous quarter.
The percentage of those saying the worst is over was highest in Mindanao at 83 percent, followed by Metro Manila (82 percent), the rest of Luzon (81 percent) and the Visayas (75 percent).
The same sentiment was prevalent among elementary graduates (83 percent), followed by junior high school graduates (81 percent), college graduates (80 percent) and nonelementary graduates (72 percent).
The percentage of respondents who fear that “the worst is yet to come” sharply declined, from 31 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 to 19 percent.
It should be noted that the survey was done from December 12 to 16, when the daily average of new Covid-19 cases was around 300.
During the same period, the government also conducted blitz vaccinations twice, on November 29 to December 1 and December 15 to 18.
The survey also showed that 88 percent of respondents said they were “a great deal worried or somewhat worried” that a family member might catch Covid-19, while the remaining 12 percent “a little worried or not worried.”
Compared to the same period last year, the number of those worried about the virus infecting family members was lower by 3 percent.
The percentage of worrisome respondents was highest in the Visayas with 94 percent, followed by Mindanao (91 percent), Metro Manila (87 percent) and the rest of Luzon (84 percent).
SWS said the concern was “much greater than worries about catching previous viruses” such as Ebola, swine flu, bird flu and severe acute respiratory syndrome.
SWS polled 1,440 adults using face-to-face interviews. There was a sampling error margin of ±2.6 percent for national percentages and ±5.2 percent for subnational percentages in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
SWS said the survey was not commissioned.
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