Since late 2019, COVID-19 has imposed a huge impact on our society. It was first recognized as an outbreak of respiratory illness cases originating from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. COVID-19 is a disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus. ‘CO’ stands for corona, ‘VI’ for virus, and ‘D’ for disease (World Health Organization, 2020). There are several severe and common symptoms of COVID-19 which are fever, cough, and fatigue. On the 30th of January 2020, the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a global health emergency (Bergman, 2021). With the rapidly growing outbreak, it decelerated the movement of the Philippine growth that significantly affected all of the sectors in the society. Most Philippine businesses were forced to restrict operations followed by the complete lockdown of the National Capital Region (NCR), Calabarzon, and other regions. As a result, enterprises were faced with challenges that limit the drive of monetary undertakings (Asian Development Bank, 2020). Today, many people are currently experiencing difficulty in supporting themselves and their families due to the lack of revenue resources. This led to an increased unemployment rate, reduced salary, and exacerbated poverty all over the world (Pak et al., 2020). In the education sector, educational leaders have decided to adapt to the new normal by imposing distance learning. More than 177.2 million students worldwide have been affected by the closure, including more than 28 million students in the Philippines (UNESCO, 2020). Both the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education shifted to various delivery modalities which include online learning, distance learning, blended learning, homeschooling, and other options (CHED, 2020; DepEd, 2020). Furthermore, this ongoing public health crisis has been taking its toll on the collective mental health of the population. It has led to the increase of known risk factors in mental health problems, ranging from the inability to meet basic needs and manage one’s education into overall feelings of instability.
It is imperative to wear face masks and face shields to avoid the transmission of the deadly virus. However, the Philippines’ confirmed number of positive cases are continuously rising despite the health guidelines implemented by the national government. Health guidelines and protocols include social distancing, wearing facemasks and face shields, curfew hours, and age restrictions. Avoiding large crowds and crowded public places while maintaining a minimum six (6) feet of physical distance, especially when coughing or sneezing, were also some of the mandated policies in order to contain the spread of the disease (Desai, 2020). Aside from social distancing, washing hands with soap for about 20-30 seconds and using sanitizers or alcohols within and outside household premises were also deemed as necessary in this time of global crisis.
Despite the downsides brought by this disease, families around the country were still managing to perform societal responsibilities and familial roles. In fact, the number of households in the Philippines increased and was forecasted to approximately 21.8 million (Sanchez, 2020). At times of vacancy, every member of the family spent a fair share amount of time on gadgets such as smartphones, televisions, radios, and etc. The abundant usage of the said devices kept various sources of information accessible to nearly every individual. This process educated the minds of Filipinos with regards to the latest trends about the pandemic. Conversely, this phenomenon also gave rise to the spread of misinformation and fake news which only worsened the current predicament.
Some of the most challenging endeavors set within this pandemic are comprised of food security, supply scarcity, and loss of livelihood. Lockdowns and community quarantines were causing further deterioration to the pre-existing conflicts. Contextually, most people under the middle and lower socio-economic classes were precarious due to the lack of functional financial systems and unstable employment positions which are crucial for subsistence in terms of present and future necessities (Tovankasame & Labayo, 2021).
Due to the conflicts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, society was forced to deal with its stressors while being simultaneously held isolated from the outside world (Büssing et al., 2020). The exposure to solitude led to the underlying changes on the perception of the society when it comes to the virus. For some families in the community, spending more time together during lockdowns promoted closer and stronger senses of unity and bonding. However, other families were uniquely affected by the absence of school and other activities, new dynamic roles and responsibilities, and unstable changing relationships (Vanderhout, 2020). Parents and adolescents were also perturbed by the fact that physical interactions are restricted and rapid changes in the environment are constantly transpiring (Janssen, 2020). Furthermore, external factors like fear, uncertainty, changes in daily habits, and individualized management of stress led to psychological disorders and profoundly influenced an individual’s mental health (Pedrosa, 2020). In addition, not everyone within the community was convinced with the effectiveness of lockdowns, quarantines, and protocols. Homeless people, who seem to be an “invisible stain” in society, are often left out of national censuses, leaving administrative agencies without oversight and responsibility (Banerjee & Bhattacharya, 2020). Stray and homeless people who spent huge amounts of time outside were more vulnerable to the disease due to their poor living conditions. The perceptions associated with the different scenarios taking place during the pandemic were stimulating an imbalance within the society as a whole.
In conjunction to the rising concerns on the ballooning cases of COVID-19 infections together with the factors affecting the perceived effectiveness of the undertaken preventive measures against it, perception of community residents were suggested to be the point of relevant discourse. Moreover, in light of the aforementioned problems, the researchers conceptualized the study of determining, describing, and analyzing the relationship of demographic background of the family heads in Carmona, Cavite and perception towards the effectiveness of the preventive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The exploration of the said subject matter was a great advantage not only to enrich pandemic tactical responses, but also to impart opportunities for everyone.
2021-6-4-1622806005