Research Compilation-Back Up

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
COMPUTER ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
NDC Campus Anonas cor. Pureza St. Sta. Mesa, Manila
HOW TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE FLATTENING OF
COVID-19 CURVE AS A COMPUTER ENGINEER
Presented to Dr. Antonio Y. Velasco
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the subject
COEN 3473 Computer Technopreneurship
Jazmin Jade L. Escolano
BS Computer Engineering 5-1
April 2020
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new strain
of coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in
Wuhan, China, in December 2019.
On the 30th of January 2020, the Philippine Department of Health reported the first
case of COVID-19 in the country with a 38-year-old female Chinese national. On 7 March, the
first local transmission of COVID-19 was confirmed. WHO is working closely with the
Department of Health in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.
As of April 25, 2020, there have been 7,294 confirmed cases of the disease in the
country. Out of these cases, 792 recoveries and 494 deaths were recorded. The Philippines
has conducted 76,956 tests as of April 23, including repeat tests, and have tested over 68,765
people.
The Philippines has the third most number of cases in Southeast Asia, after Singapore
and Indonesia. The largest single-day increase in the number of confirmed cases was on
March 31, when 538 new cases were announced. Meanwhile, the smallest single-day
increase since the last week of March was on April 4, when only 76 new cases were
announced. All of the country's 17 regions have recorded at least a case. High income and
low subsidence incidence are associated with significant reductions in COVID-2019 cases
across the 17 regions of the Philippines.

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, is
the medical facility where suspected cases are being tested for COVID-19 since January 30,
2020. Before that date, confirmatory tests were made abroad. Currently, sixteen sub-national
laboratories (in Metro Manila, Baguio, Bicol, Cebu, Davao, and Iloilo) are also conducting
COVID-19 tests while several laboratories are still undergoing proficiency testing before use.
Enumerated below is the latest update on the Coronavirus cases in the Philippines as
of April 25, 2020.
Figure 1. Total Coronavirus Cases in the Philippines (as of April 25, 2020)
Figure 2. Daily New Cases in the Philippines (as of April 25, 2020)
Figure 3. Active Cases in the Philippines (as of April 25, 2020)

Figure 4. Total Coronavirus Deaths in the Philippines (as of April 25, 2020)
Figure 5. Daily New Deaths in the Philippines (as of April 25, 2020)
An equally important challenge, however, is designing and implementing interventions
necessary to effectively subdue the spread of the disease without imposing strains on society
that are greater than the potential negative effects of the outbreak. As shown by the
experiences in other countries, responses to epidemics may have unintended consequences,
including on food security, child nutrition, and delivery of non-epidemic related health services,
as resources are diverted towards programs to control the epidemic. Local interventions need
to recognize that more than half of Filipinos have limited capacity to subsist beyond one
month if left without additional support.
The ideal goal in fighting an epidemic or pandemic is to completely halt the spread. But
merely slowing it — mitigation — is critical. This reduces the number of cases that are active
at any given time, which in turn gives doctors, hospitals, police, schools and vaccine-
manufacturers time to prepare and respond, without becoming overwhelmed.
Diseases spread when one person gives it to one or more others, who go on to give it
to more people, and so on. How fast this occurs depends on many factors, including how
contagious the disease is, how many people are vulnerable and how quickly they get sick.
The difference between seasonal flu and coronavirus is that many people have full or
partial immunity to the flu virus because they have had it before or were vaccinated against it.
Far more people are vulnerable to coronavirus, so it has many more targets of opportunity to
spread. Keeping people apart in time and space with social distancing measures, self-isolation
and actual quarantine decreases opportunities for transmission.
As a Computer Engineering student what I could mostly do is to utilize the technology I
have to spread awareness to fight and prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. I could create
Infographics about the Coronavirus disease— its symptoms, how it spreads, home self-
quarantine instructions, what should one do when they feel a symptom, how one can protect
himself and his family from the Coronavirus disease, and provide necessary contact
information of public health units for questions and concerns. I could be of help by offering my
assistance in informing the public with vital information from trusted sources only and avoid
posting fake news and unnecessary information that could possibly cause panic. I could also
introduce my family, friends, and social media connections to Yani, the COVID Chatbot made
by the UP Resilience Institute. Yani is the newest AI member of the UP COVID-19 Pandemic
Response Team! Yani, short for baYANIhan and named in honor of our heroes in the fight
against COVID-19, helps find the information one needs regarding the government policies in
relation to health, education, transportation, and economic support. I could also use my time
to research for possible technologies that could help the community prevent the spread and
fight against the virus.
References
Abrigo, M., et. al. (April 2020). “Projected Disease Transmission, Health System
Requirements, and Macroeconomic Impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19) in the Philippines.” Retrieved from
https://pidswebs.pids.gov.ph/CDN/PUBLICATIONS/pidsdps2015.pdf
University of the Philippines Media and Public Relations Office (2020). “UP Resilience Institute
introduces COVID chatbot.” Retrieved from https://www.up.edu.ph/up-resilience-
institute-introduces-covid-chatbot/
Worldometer (April 25, 2020). “Coronavirus in the Philippines — live updates and cases.”
Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/philippines/
World Health Organization (2020). “Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the
Philippines.” Retrieved from https://www.who.int/philippines/emergencies/covid-19-in-
the-philippines

6 STEPS TO SUSTAINABLY FLATTEN THE CORONAVIRUS
CURVE AS PERSPECTIVE OF COMPUTER ENGINEER
COEN 3212: Computer Engineering Ethics and Computer Laws
Joseph C. Diza, Jr.
April 2020
6 Steps to Sustainably Flatten the Coronavirus Curve as
Perspective of Computer Engineer
1. Social distancing. Government can implement number of ICT measures to enhance

social distancing. Transmit emergency alert text messages on natural or manmade disasters
to cell phones through mobile telecom carriers. It is an effective tool that could help disaster
response. Since the coronavirus outbreak, government can open a website to provide
information about companies providing solutions for remote working and education and their
products. In addition, the government can temporarily permit doctors to perform telemedicine
as part of preventive measures to avoid group contagion in vulnerable facilities including
medical institutions and nursing homes.
2. Locate COVID-19 with speedy testing. The test-kits for COVID-19 quickly became
widely available and played a major role in eliminating uncertainties in the early stages of the
viral spread. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can play a significant role in supporting researchers and
healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and screening of patients with severe symptoms, as
well as developing appropriate responses based on a thorough analysis of the situation on the
COVID-19 spread.
3. Quickly traces COVID-19. Government can utilize a mobile application for self-
diagnosis to monitor symptoms of inbound travelers while also providing them prompt medical
advice. Government can also develop a mobile app to effectively support the monitoring of
those under self-quarantine allowing the users to monitor their conditions and conduct self-
diagnosis.
4. Facilitate COVID-19 treatment. The use of AI is expected to reduce the time required
to develop medicine, as AI can learn and make deductions based on the virus and other
medical data. In other countries, they developed new medicine and relevant platforms through
the use of AI, used deep learning algorithms to predict the interaction of drug and protein, and
propose candidate medicine for the coronavirus.
5. Proper Information. Key information such as the accumulated count by region and
number of tests performed is summarized and provided as visualization data on the main
page of the website. People need clear information about what it means to travel and work
safely, as well as how to engage in more careful social interactions and how to support at-risk
populations who are still socially distanced, starting with our elderly.
6. Stabilize the economy. We should be able to create risk stratification methodologies
to allow lower risk individuals to get back to work while responsibly decreasing the risk to
themselves and society. This strategy will not be easy to implement, but it’s an essential part
of restarting the economy without ramping up the infection curve beyond health system
capacity. It will allow us, over time, to build more herd immunity across the broader population
and enable much of society and the economy to be operating at a reasonable level.
We should together make best efforts to turn the crisis into opportunity and make the
best use of the cutting- edge technologies in forefront of fight against COVID-19. We should
also work together by making every information gathered on COVID-19 readily available to all.
Any information on fight against COVID-19 is a public good, and it should be provided quickly
to everyone in need and in their fight against COVID-19. In this pandemic we are all
connected, any wisdom and experience must be also shared quickly and fairly.

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF 1ST, 2ND, AND 3RD CYCLE
OF PANDEMIC? GIVE YOUR POINT OF VIEW OR
ASSESSMENT.
Jenny Ann M. Dellosa
April 2020
Cycle 1 is when a new type of virus is identified and investigated—in animals or
humans anywhere in the world—that is thought to have implications for human health. Or
simply, this is when we recognize a potential threat to our health but still investigating if they
are can really harm our lives. We can use the current pandemic for example. Wherein on
December China reported a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan wherein the Novel
Coronavirus is identified. At this time, they are still investigating and monitoring the situation.
But on January WHO (World Health Org.) they declared the first outbreak of this virus.
When it’s declared by then, our countrymen are struck by fear due to the virus. Who
wouldn’t? It’s a new one and does not even have a cure to it and China is suffering a huge
setback due to the outbreak.
Cycle 2 is having an increased cases or clusters of cases, are identified, along with an
increased potential for person-to-person transmission. Due to numerous cases in China it
spiked the curve of people having this virus kept on increasing. That’s why it created a
hypothesis that it can be transmitted person-to-person and an airborne but still not having a
concrete evidence on this theory. As a precautionary measure everyone in China is required
to wear a facemask and the epicenter of the virus (Wuhan) is under a lockdown.
Consequently, due to an alarming rate of people having this virus every country is on guard
and getting ready. The facemask is starting to have a high demand.

Cycle 3, the virus is confirmed to have a person-to-person transmission and a large
number of people is being infected day by day. When the infections have reached thousands
in China and some people is having it too on other places. It really gave the people of the
Philippines a fright. That’s why they are suggesting to ban the flights from China. It also
encourages the country to have physical distancing, have ethics when coughing, and wear
facemask when going out. In addition to these it also encourages the government to instruct
the people to have place lockdowns to contain the virus that is what we are experiencing right
now.
Source:
THE WHO PANDEMIC PHASES/CYCLES
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK143061/
https://www.verywellhealth.com/understanding-a-pandemic-2615488
WHAT ARE THE 5 ESSENTIAL OR IMPORTANT
INDUSTRIES THAT SHOULD BE OPEN DURING THE
PANDEMIC CRISIS? PREPLANNING IN COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT AS YOUR COMPONENT ANALYSIS.
SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER IN GRAPH ANALYSIS.
COEN 3473: Computer Technopreneurship
Alberaham A. Aballa
April 2020
Essential Service Industries PREPLANNING/Readiness in
Pandemic Crisis
Executi
ve
Govern
Food ance
19% 18% Executive Governance
Healthcare
Military and Police Protection
Healthc Banking
Banking are Food
23% 19%
Military
and
Police
Protec
tion
22%
Essential service industries are the service industries that are absolutely necessary
even during a pandemic crisis. They maintain the health and welfare of the municipality or city.
Without these services, sickness, poverty, violence, and chaos would probably result.
Here are the 5 essential or important industries that should be open during the
pandemic crisis:
1. Executive Governance Industry
2. Healthcare Industry
3. Military and Police Protection Industry
4. Banking Industry
5. Food Industry
The pie chart below is my illustration for the preplanning or readiness in community
engagement when a pandemic happens.
Pandemic crisis can happen anytime and anywhere. Once a pandemic will happen,
there are things to consider in different aspects of human life. Our life would be in danger if
there is no avoidance of a viral transmittable disease like COVID-19 that is happening
nowadays.
While we’re avoiding the COVID-19 pandemic, the government and other related
essential service industries are in-charge to be the frontline in the community. That is why
Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) is implemented to lessen the number of people
having a virus. But while we’re quarantined, we should be still essential in our lives in order for
us to survive and with that, how essential service industries are ready for this pandemic. How
the government, healthcare, military/police, bank and food industries should take responsibility
with the community engagement.
For me, executive governance is not much ready of this pandemic, because first thing
first is there is no approved law that there should be preparedness for this kind of crisis.
Healthcare and food industries, for me, they have the same percentage because they are
related and they are slightly prepared because even if there is no vaccine for these virus, still
they have pursued to cure and recovered many patients. Military and police protection
industries are much prepared because even if there is no pandemic they are the hope of
those people who’s in danger. Lastly is the banking industry, since they are the supplier of
financial needs of human being the bank or money is always present even if they are
controlled by the government.
COVID-19 pandemic is deadly but if we stay in our homes and follow all the rules and
guideline the government was implemented, there will be no deaths and harm can happen to
us. Be safe, stay at home and pray continually.

WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONS
DUE TO THE EFFECT OF COVID-19? HOW CAN WE SHIFT
TO THE NEW NORMAL IN DIGITAL ASPECT OR IT?
Alyssa Karla N. Apura
April 2020
Since we are now living in a society where we are greatly inclined to technology, I think
businesses and organizations will have a massive change in how they will operate and deliver
their services to their customers - by integrating digital technologies in all the areas of their
services.
Like for example, in marketing, it will have to shift from analog to digital services.
They'll have to find more customers while spending less money. Digital transformation will
make its services generally cheaper to produce and distribute than analog media and it will
open the door to marketing automation, analytics tracking, and dialogue with customers in
ways that analog services never could.
I think slowly integrating the digital technologies to every service provided can help us
shift to the new normal. Because we cannot learn or adjust to technology in an instance.
People, especially the non-IT literate, will have to figure out first how the services work for
them to get used to the transformation that was integrated into their system.

ECQ IS THE BEST APPROACH OR ANY OTHER METHODS
THAT WE NEED TO TAKE TO LOWER THE NUMBER OF
COVID 19 PATIENTS AND FLATTEN THE CURVE.
TQM APPROACH AS SUPPORTED BY GRAPH AND
ANALYSIS.
Pauline Joi E. Bustamante
April 2020
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly
discovered coronavirus. It has been spread worldwide and thousands of deaths have been
attributed to COVID-19. On March 16,2020, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared the
entire Luzon area in the Philippines under "enhanced community quarantine" (ECQ) which is
effectively a total lockdown, restricting the movement of the population but with exceptions, in
response to the growing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country.
Additional lockdown restrictions mandated the temporary closure of non-essential shops and
businesses. This quarantine came two days after the implementation of the community
quarantine of Metro Manila.
Enhanced community quarantine is by far the most aggressively effective and most
countries are just forced to take it to flatten the infection curve. ECQ does not only helps to
flatten the curve but also helps to protect our healthcare capacity. However, enhanced
community quarantine is economically costly. People out of job in an ECQ disrupts the circular
flow of income and spending as earning members of millions of families have to stay out of
work, and this slows down, if not reverses, economic growth. Also, not everyone under ECQ
follows the rule because not all people have the means to survive. Before this crisis, most
people in the Philippines had nothing but themselves to keep their stomachs full. Yes, we can
follow the rules because we can. We have the means to survive and while doing so we can
also be critical in times like this and have a little compassion for those who have nothing. The
biggest problems right now under ECQ are mass testing, social amelioration, the economic
slowdown and the assaults on human right.
Mass testing is also one of the best solution to lessen the number of infected and to
flatten the curve. The only sustainable way we currently have of managing the coronavirus
disease is consistent mass testing. We really can’t stop the spread of the disease without an
accurate data. The main benefit of testing is life-saving. If an asymptomatic carrier tests
positive, isolating that person before they can infect others could save so many lives. Testing
even with its risk of false positives and false negatives is all upside.
ECQ and mass testing are the best possible way to flatten the curve only if our
government have concrete plans for this. But above all this, everyone in it must also do their
parts. Everyone should also take precautionary actions to ensure our own safety. Let us be
the one to take the first steps to save ourselves.

HOW TO FLATTEN THE CURVE IN THE COVID 19 AS
COMPUTER INFORMATION KNOWLEDGEABLE
PERSPECTIVE?
COEN 3483: Total Quality Management in Computer Engineering
Jopolo B. Camcam
April 2020
Define
The Novel Coronavirus 2019, or officially known as Coronavirus Infectious Disease
2019 (COVID-19), is a global pandemic that devastated the whole world As of April 27, 2020,
2.97 million people worldwide were infected, 863,000 of them have recovered from the
disease, while unfortunately 206,000 of them died because of the said disease. The
coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time and the
greatest challenge we have faced since World War Two. Since its emergence in Asia late last
year, the virus has spread to every continent except Antarctica. Cases are rising daily in Africa
the Americas, and Europe.
Countries are racing to slow the spread of the virus by testing and treating patients,
carrying out contact tracing, limiting travel, quarantining citizens, and cancelling large
gatherings such as sporting events, concerts, and schools. But COVID-19 is much more than
a health crisis. By stressing every one of the countries it touches, it has the potential to create
devastating social, economic and political crises that will leave deep scars.
As the Philippine Government responded to the COVID-19 Pandemic, a lot of
problems have risen due to lack of funding, and the blatant incompetence of the government.
The list below are the problems that the Philippines and the Filipinos are currently facing right
now:
• Lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) of frontline workers such as
doctors, nurses, volunteers, police, military, and local government staffs.
• Lack of Testing Kits for early detection and treatment
• Insufficient funding for critical fields, like research, food reliefs, frontline worker’s
allowance and provisions, and among many others.
• Blatant incompetence of the national government and having no decisive plans
against the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Lack of supply of food for those in the areas wherein the Enhanced Community
Quarantine is currently implemented.
• Delayed Travel Ban Declaration against Chinese citizens entering the country even
during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Evaluation
The cases in the Philippines is gradually increasing as time passes by, the country
encountered problems in responding to the pandemic since the country didn’t seem to be
ready in these kind of situations.
1. Lack of Testing Kits for early detection and treatment
2. Insufficient funding for critical fields, like research, food reliefs, frontline worker’s
3. Lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) of frontline workers such as doctors,
nurses, volunteers, police, military, and local government staffs.
4. National government and having no decisive plans against the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. Lack of supply of food for those in the areas wherein the Enhanced Community
Proposed Solutions/Changes
Countries like America created drones that can detect if someone on the streets has
fever. This is one of the innovations or technologies that help us identify which person are
possible to have the virus. This is an example of a Computer Engineering or Information
solution. There might not be a direct solution in solving the pandemic by using computer
engineering related projects but there are ways that it can help.
- Create a tracker that monitors a person who is possible to have the virus since
he/she has shown symptoms or PUI’s.
- Engineer a device that can easily detect if someone has the virus by analyzing
DNA from the subject without having to further involve our front liners to avoid
transmission of disease.
- Program a system that can detect which locations have denser population since
they are more prone into having contact with each other that can cause the spread
of virus.
- Research of ways to create more accurate PPE’s for the front liners to avoid the
transmission to them while they are serving the country.
By creating or modifying these kind of solutions, lessening the spread of virus will happen.
It will be a big help for the country and it can also be distributed to other countries that have
the same problem since the corona virus is a pandemic.

FLATTENING THE CURVE
Exequiel C. Reverente
April 2020
How will ECQ Extension Flatten the Curve
5.8
NUMBER OF CASES 1:10
4.5
4
3.5
3 3
2.8
2.6 2.5
1.5
0.5
0.3
MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST
CALENDAR
Scenario 1: NO INTERVENTION Scenario 2: MODIFIED COMMUNITY QUARANTINE

Scenario 3: ECQ EXTENSION
Lockdown is the most effective method in flattening the curve. The lockdown,
described by government officials as an "enhanced community quarantine," will set in motion
efforts to limit the movement of people going in and out of the island region, home to at least
57 million. These measures were recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on
coronavirus. The first level is called a “general community quarantine.” This means that the
movement of people is largely limited to “accessing basic necessities and work” while
uniformed personnel and quarantine officers are present at border checkpoints.
The second is an “enhanced community quarantine,” more akin to a total lockdown
with hard borders.

In calling for self-quarantines and social distancing measures, epidemiologists have
touted the strategy of trying to control the speed of an outbreak occurrence. This is largely to
help spread out the number of infections over time so as to cushion the impact on hospitals
and medical workers dealing with the disease first-hand.
A now viral image on the internet dubbed as “flattening the curve” illustrates this in a
simple graphic above:
Now for analyzing the graph, based in UP COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team
Scenario 1: No Intervention
As the cases of Covid-19 constantly increasing Too many cases, will translate to more
hospitals being overwhelmed and increasing the possibility of more deaths.
Here, the blue line shows a spike that could manifest if the government decides not to
implement any new guidelines after the ECQ. You can see that the red line (a.k.a. the do-
nothing scenario) curves above the brown dotted line, which signifies the capacity of our
healthcare system in managing the pandemic. This what will probably happen when the ECQ
will end by the month of April.
Scenario 2: Modified Community Quarantine

As for modified Community Quarantine, some of the implemented guidelines are
modified such as lifted extended lockdown in some areas affected by the current quarantine.
Also, LGUs based the modified guidelines in their data gathered on how community
quarantine effective is in the 1st month since the ECQ lifted. So analyzing the graph with
orange line, the modified community quarantine is more effective since they have to modify
some of the implemented guidelines for the ECQ to be more effective.
Scenario 3: Extension of ECQ
Fortunately, the government was quick to heed the task force's advice and has
extended the quarantine. Hence, it is safe to assume that the gray line after the 1st month of
ECQ, here in the graph is a more probable scenario that we'll face in the coming months.
This signifies that the virus will be contain easily since the ECQ in 1st month is effective and
will cut the consistent increasing number of the COVID-19 cases.
Study concludes that by extending the community quarantine, it will help us in the following
ways: 1st, the ECQ "buys us time to beef up our healthcare system’s capacity" and; 2nd, this
can "[limit] the reach of the disease."

WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
DUE TO THE EFFECT OF COVID-19
AND FLATTEN THE CURVE
Hazel Anne L. Maramot
April 2020
“Necessity is the mother of invention”, this is a once saying of the Greek Philosopher
Plato. Due to the rapid spreading of Covid – 19 around the world, the practice of preventing
mass – gathering, social distancing is strictly implemented through the use of imposing
national lockdowns. Businesses, as well as the global economy received a massive impact
due to the interruption of production, distribution and sales of the following products and
services. However, this situation causes a digital transformation in terms of different sectors
such as Education, Healthcare, Business and others.

According to the figure shown, countries base which measures to implement in terms
of the progression of spread of the disease. As you can see, aside from the implementation of
testing and maintaining the social distancing, contract tracing is important to contain the
possible carriers of the disease in order to prevent the possible spreading of the disease.
Countries such as South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong prevented the initial
containment. According to the following articles, the use of communication through information
systems, mobile phone technology data greatly helped the contact tracing of the infected
person as well as the possible infected persons. This also encourages the infected person
and the persons with possible contact to get the testing. According to the ITUNews article
entitled “COVID-19: How Korea is using innovative technology and AI to flatten the curve”,
“We still need to learn more about [COVID-19’s] characteristics – although we do know
now that it is very contagious,” said Seon Kui Lee, Director of the Division of Risk Assessment
and International Cooperation at the Republic of Korea’s Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (KCDC). “Information and communication technologies are required to enhance
traditional control measures and response measures, as well as for the development of
innovative solutions.”
The article stated the following reasons as to how the South Korea successfully
contains the disease:
1. Fast – Developing testing kit
- The life sciences company Seegene uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to develop
testing kits under three weeks and was approved in less than a week of its application, and
certified by the European Union.

2. Smart Quarantine Information Systems
- The use of information systems for inbound travelers helps the frontline health
workers to identify and isolate or treat the suspected coronavirus patient in a timely manner.
3. Mobile phone technology data for contact tracing
- The use location data from mobile phones, credit card transaction records and
CCTV footage to trace and test the people who might have recently contacted with an infected
person.
4. AI for improving diagnosis efficiency and patient classification
- The use of AIs for diagnosis efficiency and patient classification. For example,
• VUNO‘s Chest X-Ray AI Image Support Decision Tool – an algorithm
for identifying abnormal findings on chest x-rays – classifies intensive care patients by
using X-ray images and can examine the lung within just three seconds.
• JLK inspection, though numerous studies have developed an all-in-one
medical platform called AiHub for disease diagnosis, which, it says, uses world class
AI and big data technology from various imaging devices. It can examine lung disease
within seconds using an AI technique that is being used in hospitals.
• The company has also produced an AI-based, hand-held chest X-ray
camera which can scan the chest in just three seconds and give a heatmap
visualization of abnormal lesion.

5. Mobile apps for information sharing
- The use of mobile apps proved useful for sharing the advice and information to
the public. Many mobile apps were developed to help not only the public but also the frontline
health workers to monitor, trace those who are experiencing the symptoms to get tested at the
nearest testing centers as well as to inform the public on the following symptoms of the
coronavirus.
6. Daegu: Making use of a smart city hub
- The conversion of Daegu as a smart city due to the city of Daegu having the
majority of Covid – 19 cases will be used as a data hub for tracing the patient’s routes. This
would also help the health sectors to further study the disease I order to create a new
medicine as quickly as possible.
Despite the fact that there is no vaccine developed for Covid – 19 yet, the technology
of using AI as well as other technologies greatly helps the authorities and health sectors to
reduce the contagion of the disease. The figure below shows that countries with the testing
tends to have the fewest cases per 1000 people. This also proves that the method of using
the AIs for developing the test kits in the South Korea provides broad testing for Covid – 19
which in turns reduces the number of cases.

This figure shows the data of the following Covid – 19 cases on different countries.
Notice that country of South Korea maintains a flat line between 0 and 20. This means that
they are successful in maintaining the spread of Covid – 19. Digital Transformation of the
following technology such AIs, mobile apps and other technologies to monitor the public
health, information gathering and sharing, development of testing kits as well as patient
diagnosis and classification tools reduces the effect of Covid – 19 and flatten the curve of
Covid – 19 cases.
References:
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/risk/our-insights/covid-19-implications-for-
business
https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2020/03/11/has-south-korea-stabilized-its-covid-
19-outbreak-infographic/#84f595d686fb
https://news.itu.int/covid-19-how-korea-is-using-innovative-technology-and-ai-to-flatten-the-
curve/
https://blog.skyboxsecurity.com/how-will-covid-19-impact-digital-transformation/
DUE TO THE EFFECT OF COVID-19? HOW WE CAN
HANDLE THE NEW NORMAL IN DIGITAL ASPECT?
Jefferson L. Vasquez
April 2020
• Most of us hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will end within months, and things
will go back to normal. In fact, many aspects of our society may never return to normal. In an
effort to control the spread of the coronavirus, governments have taken extreme measures
reserved for global wartime situations and the use of military-grade surveillance technology to
enforce social distancing. With millions of people in complete or partial lockdown, the
pandemic has forced societies to quickly and dramatically change how we work,
communicate, socialize and consume products and services.
The COVID-19 pandemic has already accelerated a number of consumer trends like
online learning, working from home, streaming services, video communication and consumer
goods and service deliveries in what some are calling the Shut-in economy. Once a critical
mass of consumers gets used to these behaviors, they will likely remain embedded in our
daily lives for years to come. Some companies that provide and deliver vital goods like
personal care, paper and pharmaceutical are struggling to meet demand driven by panic
buying. Others are experiencing dramatic drops in demand and extreme pressure to cut
operational costs. Every major manufacturer is now experiencing disruptions across their
supply chains of parts and raw materials, driven by what may now become recurring volatility
of supply from South Asia. Social distancing and employee safety measures put an additional
level of pressure on manufacturers, as 40%-50% of their workforce will be unavailable to
perform their functions on-site. While office employees and knowledge workers are able to
shift to remote work as the default operating mode, most factories are simply not designed to
be managed remotely and lack the digital tools and infrastructure needed to support such
activities.
• As the Covid-19 pandemic disrupts nearly every aspect of life, enterprises are
turning to digital technology and analytics to help them weather the crisis and prepare for new
ways of operating and serving customers once we reach the other side. People are shutting in
and businesses are shutting off in response to the pandemic. That has sparked a sudden
economic shift from physical to digital. This is true both for interactions with consumers (online
marketing and sales channels, digital products) and the way companies operate (remote
working). In Italy, for instance, the lockdown has significantly boosted online shopping, with
many people making digital purchases for the first time. Meanwhile, app-enabled food and
grocery delivery services across Asia are experiencing an unprecedented surge in demand,
and some ride-hailing companies and taxi services have pivoted drivers to deliver food and
other items. Beyond the immediate fallout of the crisis, it has become clear that some of these
shifts are here to stay: Covid-19 is radically accelerating the digital future.
With many people quarantined in their homes, digital experiences matter more than ever.
Leading companies will identify the ones that matter most and improve upon them to build
new and stronger customer relationships. In other words: Follow your customers during the
pandemic, then lead them out of it.
This requires understanding the massive shift to online marketing, sales and
communication channels, not only in retail, but also in sectors such as insurance, banking and
healthcare. Leaders will make rapid improvements to their digital channels, starting with
eliminating bottlenecks and prioritizing increasingly important customer “episodes,” such as
late payments, cancellations and moves to online service.
Data should underpin all of this. Effective use of it can help companies gather
customer feedback and insights so they can quickly test ideas, learn from them and form
stronger bonds with customers.

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF 1ST, 2ND, 3RD CYCLE OF
PANDEMIC? GIVE YOUR POINT OF VIEW OR
ASSESSMENT.
Patrick Emmanuel P. Ocampo
April 2020
The effects of the 1st cycle of pandemic for me, is huge, but not for my health but for
my studies, this 1st cycle suspends all of the classes in metro manila from March 14 to April
11, and we haven’t finish our studies in the school since the 2nd semester is still on-going.
Well it does not affect only me now, but all the students, because it is the first time, we
experience a pandemic during an academic year, so all of us don’t know how to do or how to
proceed this pandemic. So, there are tons of problem for the students, but not only the
students, the teachers, the admins, and it is only the academic part of life. Now, the academic
part is done, we proceed to the personal life of all people in the Philippines, in our household
the first cycle was not bad for us, but for the other people it isn’t that bad also but only for the
first week. Some people cannot go back to their home because there stuck in their work no
one can go home because there is no mode of transport. Now 2nd week of the 1st cycle,
where people are panic buying, almost all the foods in the market are gone, some of it are the
one every people need. Like alcohol, some of the supermarkets only allow people to buy 2 per
customer/transaction. So, people like them cannot hoard and give other people a chance to
buy too.
Now we move for the 2nd cycle of the pandemic, this is the first extension made by the
Philippine government. We experienced the greatest clash between national government and
the local government. Also, we experienced the lacking ability of competitiveness on some of
the mayors, some are misguided, and some do not know how to do after they tap their
emergency funds. So, it means that there lacking ability cause the people to do what they
have to do, to cause a rally against them, even they know that they can be thrown into jail
after doing it because they will die of hunger, people can’t go to work because there is no
transportation available, because there is no work to go to because they are close due to the
pandemic covid-19, and because of it they don’t have money to buy foods. Now the 2nd week
of the 2nd cycle has started, some of the things get easier, because the mayors are having
the ability to compete, and knowing that they have a city to give their needs, like giving reliefs
to all the people.
Now for the 3rd cycle, well no much for it yet because it just started, but we can only
hope that this will be the last of it, and people can go to their work and treasure all the things
we have learned in this pandemic.

DUE TO THE EFFECT OF COVID-19? HOW WE CAN
Elizer R. Lumilay
April 2020
In my own opinion, due to the current pandemic, new norms will be implemented to
protect the daily lives of people especially in terms of technology. Schools can be the most
affected in this case. Classes can’t be conducted because the government is implementing
whole wide community quarantine. It is also an order to practice social distancing and as we
all know, classes are composed of students and that case alone is a factor to consider.
Nowadays, some schools & universities practice online learning by using school management
system and e-learning services that can be accessed online. Some of the teachers and
professors agree to this method of teaching because education is still important and they are
passionate in teaching that none can stop them. This is a good initiative and we commend all
the teachers and professors that participate in this kind of teaching but unfortunately, not all
students do have access to internet and some don’t even own a cellphone or laptop for
accessing online class. In this case, we might consider encouraging students to study in their
own while quarantine is ongoing.
Communication is another case that this pandemic may change. Physical meeting of
the company for example is the normal way of handling meetings and sharing idea between
employers and head of the company. Nowadays, online meeting or conference is now taking
place. Zoom app, Messenger call and Skype are some ways we can meet our constituents
online.
These methods in communicating and studying can become the new norm if the
pandemic still progresses in the future. Changing norm is alright but we must remember that
we must exercise privacy and security when accessing our online accounts.
WHAT SORTS OF MITIGATION TO HELP AND MEASURE TO
TRANSFORM THE HIGHEST PEAK CURVE INTO
FLATTENING THE CURVE AS COMPUTER ENGINEER
PERSPECTIVE? SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER IN GRAPH AND
ANALYSIS.
Patrick Rupisan
April 2020
Flattening the curve is an utmost importance today as the whole world face its battle
against the coronavirus pandemic. Flattening the curve means reducing the number of cases
on a certain pandemic to the number in which the healthcare system of a country is able to
attend to. This would greatly help a community to not only reduce the number of infected
person but also reduce the mortality rate of the pandemic as the hospitals are able to care for
those who are infected with the disease. The graph below shows the graphic representation
on what flattening the curve is able to do for the majority of infected.
As we can see protective measures against the pandemic is the most important thing
after the outbreak. As a computer engineer where social media is very readily available,
misinformation is mainly the reason that a community isn’t able to implement proper solutions
that needs cooperation from everyone.

People are getting their news mainly on news organizations and social media, by
controlling these means to provide factual and recent developments and founding on the
pandemic, we can influence the people watching by having them informed on what helps in
combatting the pandemic.
Having people informed then we can have them know the importance of social
distancing in order to not only flatten the curve but also smash it. A university in Texas has
recorded the number of cases they have and showed a graph in which it shows that reducing
the amount of activities that require social affair would help in flattening the curve completely.
Since the Philippines is a third-world country, we lack the capacity of rich countries to
produce basic health care equipment that we need for our front liners in combatting a
pandemic. Therefore, cooperation from everyone is necessary to achieve a flatten curve. The
solution that I see as a computer engineer is to develop a much profound source of
information by the local government to be then distributed freely to everyone to give everyone
a heads up that would start about the reducing the number of infected person.
WHAT IS THE NEW NORMAL? WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS
TO THE FILIPINOS? HOW WE CAN COPE UP TO THIS KIND
OF METHOD AFTER THE PANDEMIC?
Bern Paul San Diego
April 2020
The new normal in the Philippines that are seen on the news and as the government
speakers announced will involve mandatory wearing of face mask in public places and
observing physical distancing and many more protocols that will be discussed later.
The government house speakers proposed the “New Normal for the Workplace and Public
Spaces Act,” or the House Bill 6623. Which will be the "new normal" during this 2019 corona
virus disease pandemic.
Protocols that are being practised to prevent the further growth of number in COVID-
19 cases such as social distancing, mandatory wearing of masks, street sanitations,
temperature checking and putting up handwash or sanitation staions in public, physical
distance of atleast 1 meter in public places will be enforced. Also, the operation of motorcycle
taxis will remain suspended. While other forms of public transportations should impose a one
seat apart and “contact-less” mode of payment. Sports and other extracurricular activities in
schools and other learning institutions will also remain suspended subject to consultation with
the DepEd and CHEd. Online classes should also be implemented in both public and private
schools to allow students to learn online. Once on-site classes may resume, there will be still
a physical distance the should be observed within the classrooms. Meanwhile, restaurants
and other food service places may resume under the new normal according to the measure,
but only for take-out and delivery initially. However, there will be some restrictions like buffets
and salad bars.
Under the bill, it is said that failure to wear face mask in public places will be made to
pay a fine of P1,000 or render a one-day mandatory community service. Private businesses
are also required to come up with their management plan for the new normal.
This new normal house bill didn’t have any effects in this time since it didn’t start yet.
But as we can see in this house bill, the protocols are the same with little additions. So we can
conclude that the effect might be the same as what its effect in this period that these protocols
are being implemented.
As the new speech from our very own President Duterte said, the ECQ won’t be
extended anymore but there will be a new community quarantine that will be applied, called
General Community Quarantine. Selected workers in non-essential services are allowed to go
to work. Half of employees work from home; 50 percent are working on site for some
businesses. Schools, Amusement centers, Leisure facilities, Gaming and Tourism services
will remain closed. Some people who are listed in the age restriction won’t be allowed to go
leave the house. ONLY shops catering to NECESSITIES will be allowed to re-open in malls.
Malls will limit entry of shoppers. Air-conditioning will be limited in malls. WIFI will not be
provided. NO loitering allowed. Priority construction projects can resume. Nonworkers are
allowed to buy food and go out to avail of essential services. Public transport can operate at
reduced capacity. Local government units shall ENFORCE CURFEW for nonworkers. Airports
and ports can only operate for the unhampered DELIVERY OF GOODS. Plans of going out or
reunions after May 15 are still not entirely possible. You are REQUIRED to bring an I.D. that
specifies your AGE and ADDRESS wherever you go. Checkpoints will still be in place. You
will still be questioned if you defy the rules.
The Filipinos are facing a huge crisis in this pandemic. Since there is a lockdown, lots
of Filipino workers are forced to stay at home without any money in their pockets. The cries of
the poor, although it exists from the start, was more visible now. Families that are dependent
on their small salary are now starving. Meanwhile those corrupted people are trying to gain a
fortune by underhanded methods.
Although there are quite bad cases that are happening, there are still positive progress
that changed amidst this pandemic. There is a visible change in air quality in the Philippines.
The air that was somehow polluted is starting to be clean again since there are less vehicles
in the roads.
We can still go back the way we use to live once the scholars and scientist have found
the cure to the pandemic disease. But as of today, that the cure is still in progress, the only
thing we can do is abide by the rules that are set by health experts for us to defend ourselves
from the said virus.
Filipinos are also known to be hardworking and can easily adapt to any situations and I
know that adjusting to the new lifestyle that is caused by the pandemic virus, will be easy. For
the mean time our programmers can develop a new mode of payment that will require a
contact-less form of transaction. Sanitation stations will be everywhere and that will be a good
sign on how the government focuses on good hygiene. The biggest problem that I can think is
the public transportation. Even without at the time where there is no pandemic, the Filipinos,
especially in the city, are having a bad day caused by our public transportation. So I think the
government must focus on this area after the pandemic. With the physical distancing the
person who can ride a bus on the same time most probably will be halved, thus making the
horrible public transportation experience into a more horrific experience.

WHAT IS THE POSSIBLE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION DUE
TO THE EFFECT OF COVID19?
Joshua John S. Pascual
April 2020
1. What is the possible digital transformation due to the effect of covid19?

Digital Transformations because of COVID19
The significant weaknesses the IT industry is facing now is due to the fall in the
economy, as a lot of companies are forced to ask their employees to work from home
(remotely) keeping in the account of the public health concerns. Due to this, there is a
massive loss in opportunity for many companies who have international dealers. For
example, Apple Inc. is estimated to have at least 10% fall in its shares because of the
lack of availability of iPhones in the market. The parts that are required to build the
iPhones are supposed to come from China, and it is facing a major lockdown.
The spread of this deadly virus has caused a lot of tech conferences to get
cancelled, which could have been a great partnership opportunity for many companies
to expand their horizons. A few of the meetings were shifter to teleconferences, but
this won’t have the same reach, and the conference attendees will not be able to have
the networking opportunity as they would be attending the actual conference. Due to
the cancellation of these major tech conferences, there is an estimated loss of US$ 1
Billion.
2. How we can handle the new normal in digital aspect?
Circumvention of daily lives through digital technology
With the current restriction in every country to mitigate the spread of the
pandemic. Every aspects of daily life from work, education and day-to-day interaction
is significantly affected with the effect of “Social Distancing”. But that does not
necessarily mean that daily life stops.

With the help of digital technologies, citizens who have access has a more
commodities and services such as food deliveries or to be able to work at home. But
that does not mean it improves the life of everyone, especially the ones who does not
have enough access to technology, especially internet. Some are still struggling and
forced to do daily transaction outside and risking themselves and the community.
3. How the IT ethics is affected?
With the sudden increase of online traffic, especially on communication
applications, there is also an increase in malicious hacking activities from hijacking
conversations and selling user information on the black market. These companies now
have the Ethical obligation to prioritize the security of their end-users instead of
capitalizing and profiteering of the traffic.
Also, as people stay inside, increase in social media is on the rise as well. Ever
since, misinformation or “fake news” has been a controversial topic, especially in
governments. With people seeking information, it is important to only share information
with reliable sources.

DUE TO THE EFFECT OF COVID-19? HOW CAN WE SHIFT
TO THE NEW NORMAL IN THE DIGITAL ASPECT OR IT?
Lance Jerome S. Camua
April 2020
The coronavirus outbreak is first and foremost a human tragedy, affecting hundreds of
thousands of people. It is also having a growing impact on the global economy. There are
many possible digital transformations due to the pandemic. It can be positive or negative. In
the short-term, some existing digital transformation projects – namely, large-scale initiatives –
will likely slow down, while smaller changes that can improve efficiency and business
continuity will speed up.
It’s only natural that overarching strategies are going to shift as a result of COVID-19.
Businesses are now in survival mode. They know that it’s going to be hard to navigate the
economic challenges which lie ahead and will want to press pause on expensive, riskier
innovation in place of technology which will increase productivity, deliver a competitive edge
and help drive the procurement of business.
Security priorities are also changing. They will need to be able to check access and
paths from remote workers and their home networks all the way down to corporate data
centers and cloud services. There has never been a greater need for network visibility.
Organizations are going to need to ensure they can continuously collect and efficiently
analyze relevant data to keep the business running smoothly and securely.
In terms of shifting to the new normal or adjusting to the new digital aspect of work or
industries. Maintaining the implementation of work from home not only can help the well-being
of the employee, it also benefits the problem in our mass transportation by reducing the
amount of commuters. It also lessens the pollution, which for me has been proven during the
duration of our ECQ.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE OF ECQ AND GCQ? IN THIS
METHOD IT WILL BE EFFECTIVE DURING THE PANDEMIC
TIME TO FLATTEN THE CURVE.
Aaron Gabriel T. Alonzo
April 2020
General Community Quarantine (GCQ) is primarily the first level of the quarantine, this
means that people have a largely limited access in necessities and work. Almost half of the
public transport have declared to suspend to follow the social distancing, in response to the
coronavirus disease outbreak. Young people, senior citizen and people with high risk to the
virus are recommended to stay at home at this period. There are also uniformed authorities
and quarantine officers that might be present at border checkpoints. While the Enhanced
Community Quarantine (ECQ) is more like a total lockdown with hard borders. This means
that the GCQ will be strictly enhanced. In this period, strict home quarantine will be
implemented, transportation will be suspended excluding the delivery of medical supplies and
basic protection equipment of our frontlines and delivery of food supplies will also be
regulated. The enhanced community quarantine was implemented because of the high risk of
increasing the number of cases rapidly.
Metro Manila hits the most number of cases for the past few weeks. Implementing
these steps is a great way to eliminate the spread of the virus within the community.
Lockdown will prevent the in and out transactions that might cause the spread of virus. This is
a largely a great help to control the speed of an outbreak occurrence. Flattening the curve
means the cases per day slows down to the point our health care system can handle the
pandemic and it will only be effective if the implementation of the quarantine will be followed
by the citizens. There are no vaccines available for this virus, the only we can do is reduced
the number of cases gradually until it comes to point where it will nearly hit zero cases and
this will happen if all of us will stay at home for now.

HOW TO FLATTEN THE CURVE OF COVID-19 INFECTION
RATE IN THE COMPUTER ENGINEERING PERSPECTIVE?
COEN 3483: Total Quality Management in Computer Engineering
Karl Edward S. Gonzales
April 2020
I. Define the problem

The Novel Coronavirus 2019, or officially known as Coronavirus Infectious Disease
2019 (COVID-19), is a global pandemic that devastated the whole world As of April 27, 2020,
2.97 million people worldwide were infected, 863,000 of them have recovered from the
disease, while unfortunately 206,000 of them died because of the said disease. The
coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time and the
greatest challenge we have faced since World War Two. Since its emergence in Asia late last
year, the virus has spread to every continent except Antarctica. Cases are rising daily in Africa
the Americas, and Europe.
Countries are racing to slow the spread of the virus by testing and treating patients,
carrying out contact tracing, limiting travel, quarantining citizens, and cancelling large
gatherings such as sporting events, concerts, and schools. But COVID-19 is much more than
a health crisis. By stressing every one of the countries it touches, it has the potential to create
devastating social, economic and political crises that will leave deep scars.
As the Philippine Government responded to the COVID-19 Pandemic, a lot of
problems have risen due to lack of funding, and the blatant incompetence of the government.
The list below are the problems that the Philippines and the Filipinos are currently facing right
now:
• Lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) of frontline workers such as
• Lack of Testing Kits for early detection and treatment
• Insufficient funding for critical fields, like research, food reliefs, frontline worker’s

• Blatant incompetence of the national government and having no decisive plans
against the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Lack of supply of food for those in the areas wherein the Enhanced Community
• Delayed Travel Ban Declaration against Chinese citizens entering the country even
during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic

II. Define the matrix
The Ansoff matrix model is essential for strategic marketing planning where it can be
applied to look at opportunities to grow revenue for a business through developing new
products and services or "tapping into" new markets.
In their case, they did not focus on growth means that it's one of the most widely used
marketing models. It is used to evaluate opportunities for companies to increase their sales
through showing alternative combinations for new markets (i.e. customer segments and
geographical locations) against products and services offering four strategies as shown.
III. Analyzing the problem
As the Philippine Government responded to the COVID-19 Pandemic, a lot of problems
have risen due to lack of funding, and the blatant incompetence of the government. The list
below are the problems that the Philippines and the Filipinos are currently facing right now:
1. Lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) of frontline workers such as
2. Lack of Testing Kits for early detection and treatment
3. Insufficient funding for critical fields, like research, food reliefs, frontline
worker’s allowance and provisions, and among many others.
4. Blatant incompetence of the national government and having no decisive
plans against the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. Lack of supply of food for those in the areas wherein the Enhanced
Community Quarantine is currently implemented.
6. Delayed Travel Ban Declaration against Chinese citizens entering the
country even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
IV. Testing Ideas

As we all know, our target in defeating the COVID-19 pandemic is to flatten the curve of
the infection rate. As a computer engineer, we are greatly accustomed to different
technologies and ideas. We can innovate software and hardware technologies to provide
suitable results and products as to what is the needs and wants of the industry. Computer
engineering can greatly innovate different technologies that will help in defeating and
flattening the COVID-19 infection rate. Automation and artificial intelligence assistance are
some of the greatest product the computer engineering can offer to the society in combatting
the said pandemic. Robotics, software, and other products can help our citizens in easing up
the hardships created by Coronavirus.
Here are some steps on how to test ideas for comprehensive innovation in defeating a
pandemic:
Step 1: Think and Hypothesize.
Innovations are distinguished from inventions, technology and research, but may
arise from any of the three. A variety of models of the innovation process are described,
for they are useful in developing public policies for encouraging innovations as well as for
managing their creation. The more advanced of these models include consideration of
complementary assets and social capital, which helps explain the differences in innovative
capacity in different societies. Innovation is a primary source of competitive advantage for
companies in essentially all industries and environments, and drives forward efficiency,
higher productivity, and differentiation to fill a wide variety of needs. One particular
perspective on economics isolates innovation as a core driving force, alongside
knowledge, technology, and entrepreneurship. This theory of innovation economics notes
that the neoclassical approach (monetary accumulation driving growth) overlooks the
critical aspect of the appropriate knowledge and technological capabilities.

As Computer Engineers in the computer engineering field, we should create,
remodel, and/or innovate future or current technologies that will greatly help people
especially in defeating the virus, lowering rate of infection, and giving people an easier life
during the pandemic crisis using the products made from computer and technological
engineering.
Step 2: Build.
Emerging technologies are being deployed across Asia to help combat the COVID-
19 pandemic. From Singapore to South Korea to China, technology is being used by
governments around the world to track and contain the coronavirus outbreak – some more
than others.
"Sometimes the pace of innovation in emerging digital technologies can be held
back by infrastructure, financing and bureaucratic constraints," said Jonathan Tanner, a
digital consultant at the Overseas Development Institute, a think tank.
"When faced with a challenge like responding to the coronavirus outbreak, there
are strong incentives to overcome these constraints quickly and put new technology to the
test," he added.
In Singapore, the government there has launched an app called TraceTogether.
This app uses Bluetooth signals between smartphones to see if potential carriers of the
coronavirus have been in close contact with other people. This is yet another effective tool
used by the government to track potential carriers in addition to contact tracing teams on
the ground. The use of applications paired with increased surveillance have attributed to
the country's slow rate of infection compared to many other countries.
A similar tech approach was used in Hong Kong, where some residents were
required to wear a wristband which linked to a smartphone app and could alert authorities
if a person suspected or infected with coronavirus left their place of quarantine.
Step 3: Measure
The OnePoll survey of 2,000 people found that only half of people think the
tech in their lives is properly tested before being sold, despite 98% stating that the
reliability of the tech they use is important.

With technology at the heart of many businesses, when asked what the most
important reason for technology needing to be reliable is, 61% of people identify safety
or security as their main concern, with the next most important reason being ease of
use (11%).
And for businesses using, developing or selling technology, 95% of people say
that having it properly tested by industry experts is important – much more than those
who stress the importance of the brand behind the tech (73%), where it was purchased
(70%), or where it was made (61%).
The study also found that people prefer to use tested technology that is proven
to work over tech that is completely new. 52% of people say that using the latest and
newest forms of technology is important to them, while 95% of people say that
technology that’s proven to work is important.
Nuno Silva, CRITICAL Software’s Chief Test Engineer, says: “For all the awe-
inspiring developments, people still seem to have concerns about the reliability of the
technology we use in our lives. The pressure to release new technologies can
sometimes come at a cost to reliability. The problem with this is that more and more
technologies are becoming critical to our day-to-day lives, impacting things like safety
and security, and the consequences of getting these things wrong can be
catastrophic.”
Step 4: Learn
In this step, you analyze the data and gain insights. You systematically connect
the evidence and data from experiments back to the initial hypotheses, how you tested
them, and what you learned. You must have to learn the proper way of managing your
innovations especially in the time of a pandemic crisis. Is the technological innovation
you are working with will give benefits to your target society or it will be beneficial in
slowing the spread and defeating the COVID-19? Also, this is where you identify if
your initial hypotheses were right, wrong or still unclear. You might learn that you have
to reshape your idea, to pivot, to create new hypotheses, to continue testing, or you
might prove with evidence that your idea has legs and you’re on the right track. As we
start in creating new technologies, we will have tasks we can work through. Testers
are always learning but we cannot always quantify it. We learn about the product we
are testing. We learn and develop relationships with developers, managers and
testers. This makes us great at what we do. We change based on the environment we
are in or the product we have to test. We have to continue to educate ourselves about
the tools we need to test each product. At the center of all testing, it should always be
a deep understanding of the critical hypotheses underlying how you intend to create
value for the society and how will it help it flattening the curve in Coronavirus infection
rate.
V. Reducing Customer Complaints
1. Deploying New Technologies
Improving the software in your call center can help create better experiences
for both agents and customers. The easier it is for customer service agents to do their
job, the better they can handle customers. For example, implementing a call-back
solution can help smooth out call volume when you’re faced with a spike in calls
causing longer than normal hold-times.
2. Open Up New Channels of Communications
If your business isn’t already using social media to communicate, there’s no
better time than the present. In the 2013 National Customer Rage Study they found
that more than a third of customers use social networks to complain. You can use
social media to monitor interactions between you and your customers, and predict
problems before they escalate to complaints. If you’re already using social media to
communicate with your customers it might be time to explore new ways of interacting
with them, such as using Twitter Polls to get their feedback periodically.
3. Provide Seamless User Experience

If you saw a surge in complaints from customers about the ease and efficiency
of your website or mobile platforms, it might be wise to step up your game in 2016.
Along with making improvements to the user experience (UX), you can also integrate
customer service widgets to support your product and curb user complaints.
4. Find Creative Ways to Ask for Feedback
As mentioned in the previous two tips, new communications makes it’s easier
than ever to creatively uncover what your customers think of you. It’s never easy to
ask for criticism but it’s the best method of resolving complaints and finding solutions.
If your customers complained about your website’s UX – incentivize them with a
discount code they can only use for web and ask them for feedback after completing
the transaction.
5. Don’t Make Promises You Can’t Keep
When Comcast launched a media campaign telling its customers that they
were going to “stop being the worst company” there was a fair amount of skepticism
swirling around this promise – and rightfully so. After a year, they still remain high on
our Top 10 OnHoldWith offenders list and customers regularly mock their twitter
handle @ComcastCares.
6. Improve Internal Communications
Communicate often and thoroughly within and across all departments. This
way you can catch problems and create solutions before your customers can.
Facebook recently reported that Mark Zuckerberg is still hands on with product
development, and catches errors well before users do. No matter what level you are in
an organization it’s important to keep your ear to the ground and play a role in making
improvements, not only in your field of expertise but as an unbiased third party in other
departments.
7. Log customer complaints
By tracking and logging complaints no one in your organization can use the
excuse “I didn’t know that was a problem” or “I didn’t know how to resolve the
problem”. Every complaint your company hears should have a case file and potential
problem solving options to help eliminate further complaints. Plus, the more you’re
reminded, the more you’ll never want to deal with that complaint again.
VI. Finding root cause of COVID-19

People can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus. The disease spreads
primarily from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth, which are
expelled when a person with COVID-19 coughs, sneezes, or speaks. These droplets are
relatively heavy, do not travel far and quickly sink to the ground. People can catch COVID-19
if they breathe in these droplets from a person infected with the virus. This is why it is
important to stay at least 1 metre (3 feet) away from others. These droplets can land on
objects and surfaces around the person such as tables, doorknobs and handrails. People can
become infected by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or
mouth. This is why it is important to wash your hands regularly with soap and water or clean
with alcohol-based hand rub.

The new COVID-19 is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. The most likely ecological
reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2 are bats, but it is believed that the virus jumped the species barrier
to humans from another intermediate animal host. This intermediate animal host could be a
domestic food animal, a wild animal, or a domesticated wild animal which has not yet been
identified.
WHO continues to collaborate with experts, Member States and other partners to
identify gaps and research priorities for the control of COVID-19, and provide advice to
countries and individuals on prevention measures. National food safety authorities have been
following this event with the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN)
Secretariat to seek more information on the potential for persistence of the virus on
foods traded internationally and the potential role of food in the transmission of the virus.
Experiences from previous outbreaks of related coronaviruses, such as the Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome
coronavirus (MERS-CoV) show that transmission through food consumption did not occur. To
date, there have not been any reports of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus through food.
However, concerns were expressed about the potential for these viruses to persist on raw
foods of animal origin.
Currently, there are investigations conducted to evaluate the viability and survival time
of SARS-CoV-2. In general, coronaviruses are very stable in a frozen state according to
studies of other coronaviruses, which have shown survival for up to two years at -20°C.
Studies conducted on SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV indicate that these viruses can persist on
different surfaces for up to a few days depending on a combination of parameters such as
temperature, humidity and light. For example, at refrigeration temperature (4°C), MERS-CoV
can remain viable for up to 72 hours. Current evidence on other coronavirus strains shows
that while coronaviruses appear to be stable at low and freezing temperatures for a certain
period, food hygiene and good food safety practices can prevent their transmission through
food. Specifically, coronaviruses are thermolabile, which means that they are susceptible to
normal cooking temperatures (70°C). Therefore, as a general rule, the consumption of raw or
undercooked animal products should be avoided. Raw meat, raw milk or raw animal organs
should be handled with care to avoid cross-contamination with uncooked foods.
SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV are susceptible to the most common cleaning and
disinfection protocols and there is no indication so far that SARS-Cov-2 behaves differently.
VII. Summary of Findings
As IT pros around the world go all-out to support a workforce that's suddenly fully remote,
many technology workers and companies are also joining efforts to alleviate the COVID-19
crisis in various ways, including developing products to combat the virus, tracking and
predicting its spread, and protecting hospitals from cyberattacks.
In an era of widespread 3D printing and high-tech software – and at a time when many
large-scale manufacturers, including Dyson and Ford, are shifting their attentions to
manufacturing medical hardware – small-scale producers are leading the way like never
before.
And not every design needs to go to market. Welshman Wyn Griffiths devised a hands-
free door opener – which clips onto door handles and can be operated using the forearm –
after his wife visited a hospital and saw the difficulties staff were facing. Griffiths has since
distributed the 3D design online for free and is asking people to print and distribute the
handles wherever possible.
Other recent patents that could genuinely save lives include a snood mask with an antiviral
coating - from Virustatic Shield, which plans to scale up production to a million a week and
reserve part of their stock for the UK's National Health Service.
Meanwhile, Dr Rhys Thomas of Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen in Wales went straight to
the heart of global health concerns when he devised a “simple and robust” basic ventilator
designed to help patients breathe – and which also kills COVID-19.

“Although it won't replace an ICU ventilator, the majority of patients won't need intensive
care if they are treated with this ventilator first,” he said.
“The machine will [also] clean the room of viral particles and only supply purified air to the
patient. The patient can self-care, releasing specialist nurses for other duties.”
While Asian countries have been quicker to use data-centric apps to respond to the crisis,
countries like the United States (US) have yet to adopt a universal app to create a central
channel for a nationwide tracking system.
“It makes me feel like I’m living in a farce,” said Dr Ritu Thamman, a cardiologist and
clinical assistant professor at the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine. Even hospital
staff who may have been exposed can’t get a test, she said. “We are a rich country but we
don’t have these kinds of things?”
Malaysia is also taking strides in technology and innovation amidst the outbreak. The
World Health Organisation (WHO) quickly picked up on a community-based website called
CoronaTracker developed through the expertise of 2,000 people including data scientists,
medical professionals, IT developers, graphic designers as well as residents from around the
world.
CoronaTracker was created to prevent the spread of misinformation as well as centralising
available data for research purpose. The website has been recognised as a valuable tool in
predicting and forecasting infections, deaths, and recoveries that can be used on a global
scale.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT POSSIBLE CURING
PROCESSES OR POSSIBLE STUDIES THAT MIGHT HELP
TO PREVENT THE EPIDEMIC COVID19? (PLEASE INCLUDE
THE VIRGIN COCONUT OIL IN YOUR RESEARCH ANSWER.)
Nikki G. Abarca
April 2020
Medicinal Herbs
The Philippines is also joining the Solidarity clinical trials and according to Presidential
Spokesperson Harry Roque, there are four drugs to be subjected for testing into Filipino
patients and these are hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, liponavir, ritonavir and interferon and
these studies have connections with herbal drugs.
1. Virgin Coconut Oil
According to the study of Professor Emeritus, Dr. Fabian Antonio Dayrit and Dr.
Mary Newport on the potential use of coconut oil as a safe antiviral agent against the
novel coronavirus, the coconut oil contains Lauric acid (C12) and monolaurin, and
derivative like sodium lauryl sulfate (which is also known as sodium dodecyl sulfate),
that have been known for many years and used in a wide range of products for their
significant antiviral properties.
Lauric acid is a medium-chain fatty acid which makes up about 50% of coconut
oil; and monolaurin is a metabolite that is naturally produced by the body’s own
enzymes upon ingestion of coconut oil and is also available in pure form as a
supplement. While sodium lauryl sulfate, is a common surfactant that is made from
lauric acid, and has been shown to have potent antiviral properties.
Also, in Dr. Dayrit’s research there are three mechanisms that have been
proposed to explain the antiviral activity of lauric acid and monolaurin:
1. First, they cause disintegration of the virus envelope;
2. Second, they can inhibit late maturation stage in the virus replicative cycle;
3. Third, they can prevent the binding of viral proteins to the host cell membrane.
Capric acid (C10) and monocaprin have also shown promising activity against
other viruses, such as HIV-1 (Kristmundsdottir et al., 1999). Capric acid accounts for
about 7% of coconut oil. Thus, at least two fatty acids in coconut oil, and their
monoglycerides, have antiviral properties. Hilarsson and co-workers (2007) tested
virucidal activities of fatty acids, monoglycerides and fatty alcohols against respiratory
syncytial virus (RSV) and human parainfluenza virus type 2 (HPIV2) at different
concentrations, times and pH levels. They reported the most active compound tested
was monocaprin (C10), which also showed activity against influenza A virus and
significant virucidal activities even at a concentration as low as 0.06-0.12%.
Dr. Dayrit is proposing for a more definitive study to be seriously considered as
there is considerable scientific evidence for the antiviral activity of coconut oil, lauric
acid, and its derivatives and their general safety. In addition to that, he proposes that
clinical studies should be conducted as the treatment is affordable and virtually risk-
free, and the potential benefits are enormous.
DOST is also supporting and funding other virgin coconut oil studies like the
hospital-based study by the University of the Philippines- Philippine General Hospital
on “Virgin Coconut Oil and Omega-3a Adjunctive Therapy for Hospitalized Patients
with COVID-19” that is headed by Dr. Marissa Alejandria, president of the Philippine
Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. The study aims to assess the
possible benefits of the virgin coconut oil if given to patients with moderate to severe
COVID-19 in addition to the drugs being assessed in the clinical trials. This study will
run for at least 4 weeks.

The second study on the virgin coconut oil is being implemented by the Food
and Nutrition Research Institute of DOST which will evaluate the symptoms of COVID-
19 such as difficulty in breathing and coughing.
Similar to the Malunggay plant, coconut oil is another extraordinary food that is
packed with nutrients and ingredients that can help boost immunity. Not only that,
coconut oil is also known to have anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties.
2. Lagundi
The Lagundi herb will also be subjected for a study to fight the COVID-19 as it
cures flu and researchers in the Philippines believe in its potential to help in treating
the COVID-19 patients.
3. Tawa tawa Plant
The researchers also consider tawa-tawa plant as a possible cure because it
can be a cure for dengue and in other countries, there are several tests conducted
regarding the drugs used for malaria cure and it might be a way in treating the COVID-
19 patients. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque also revealed that there is a
study of a COVID-19 treatment by a biotech group in collaboration with the Philippine
Government Hospital (PGH) that is also being subjected to clinical trials at the hospital
and this possible medicine aims to alleviate the active infections and give short-term
immunity or prophylaxis against the virus.
Repurposing drugs designed to treat other diseases (Malaria, Flu, and Cancer)
1. Drug for Ebola
The Remdesivir had shown glimmers of hope in controlling the virus in the lab
and also showed promise as a tool to treat coronaviruses like those that caused SARS
and MERS. According to the article, an unapproved drug that was originally developed
to fight Ebola, helped 68% of the patients with severe breathing problems to improve
and 60% of those who were using ventilators improved after 18 days.
2. Hydroxychloroquine
Researchers at Vanderbilt University were taking an in-depth study of
hydroxychloroquine. It was already approved to treat malaria and certain autoimmune
disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. This has been brought to a study after
first Chinese doctors, and then President Trump touted its potential in treating COVID-
19.
According to a survey of 5000 physicians in 30 countries conducted by a
healthcare data company Sermo, 44% prescribed hydroxychloroquine for their COVID-
19 patients, and 38% believed it was helping.
Researchers learned that hydroxychloroquine in the lab can block viruses,
including coronaviruses, from infecting cells. In the lab studies, when the infected
human cells with different viruses and then bathed them in hydroxychloroquine, those
cells could generally stop viruses like influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and the original SARS
virus, another type of coronavirus, from infecting the cells. However, according to Dr.
Otto Yang, from the department of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics
at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles, the
problem is that what happens in the lab often doesn’t predict what happens in a
patient. That’s why doctors are approaching hydroxychloroquine with healthy
skepticism when it comes to COVID-19 and are only using it on the sickest patients
with no other options.
3. Favipiravir
This is a flu treatment from Toyama Chemical, a pharmaceutical division of the
Japanese conglomerate Fujifilm, and Chinese researchers used to treat patients with
COVID-19. More rigorous studies of both remdesivir and favipiravir against SARS-
CoV-2 are ongoing.
4. Cancer Drugs
Cancer drugs are showing promise as COVID-19 treatments, not by
neutralizing the virus but by healing the damage infection does to the immune system.
The Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, for example, has ruxolitinib, which was
approved by the FDA in 2011 to treat a number of different cancers and is designed to
tamp down an exaggerated immune response- which can be caused by both tumor
cells and a virus. In theory, ruxolitinib could suppress this virus-caused cytokine storm
(breathing problems that require extra oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilators).
5. Anti-inflammatory drugs
Eli Lilly is also testing one of its anti-inflammatory drugs, baricitinib, in severe
COVID-19 patients. Similar to ruxolitinib, baricitinib interferes with the revved up
signalling among immune cells that can trigger the inflammatory cytokine storm.
According to president of Lilly Bio-MEdicines Patrik Jonsson, there are even early hints
from case studies of doctors treating COVID-19 patients that the drug may target the
virus too, which means that it helps to lower the viral load in infected patients.
Plasma, Antibodies and More
1. Plasma from Human
Researchers have been trying to find a possible cure for the COVID-19, and
one of the possible ways they are trying involves this old-school approach wherein
they make use of the plasma from recovered patients- technically called “convalescent
plasma” - as a treatment.
The main concept of this method is to use immune cells extracted from the
blood of people who have recovered from COVID-19 and infuse them into those who
are infected, giving them passive immunity to the disease, which could at least
minimize some of its more severe symptoms. In late March, New York Blood Center
was the first U.S. facility to start collecting blood from recovered COVID-19 patients.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is allowing doctors to try the passive
immunity treatment in the sickest patients on a case by case basis, as long as they
apply for permission to use or study the plasma as an investigational new drug. Here
in the Philippines, people who have recovered from the virus are donating their blood
for plasma extraction to help other patients who are currently battling with the virus.
However, the biggest drawback of this approach is the limited supply of
antibodies. According to the article, each recovered donor has different levels of
antibodies that target SARS-CoV-2, so collecting enough can be a problem, especially
if the need continues to surge during an ongoing pandemic.
2. Plasma from Horses
At the Maryland-based pharmaceutical company Emergent BioSolutions,
scientists are trying to overcome this challenge by turning to a unique source of
plasma donors: horses. According to Laura Saward, head of the company’s
therapeutic business unit, the size makes them ideal donors. Scientists already use
plasma from horses to produce treatments for botulism (bacterial infection), and have
found that the volume of plasma the animals can donate means each unit can treat
more than one patient (with human donors, at this point, one unit of plasma from a
donor can treat one patient). Horse plasma may also have higher concentrations of
antibody, so “the thought is that a smaller dose of equine plasma would be effective in
people because there would be higher levels of antibody in smaller doses,” says
Saward.
3. Plasma from Mice bred with Human-like immune systems
At Regeneron, a biotechnology firm based in New York, researchers are
turning to mice bred with human-like immune systems and infected with SARS-CoV-2.
According to the article, they are searching hundreds of antibodies these animals
produce for the ones that can most effectively neutralize the virus.
4. Plasma from molecular copying machines

Scientists now have the technology to build what are essentially molecular
copying machines that can theoretically churn out large volumes of the antibodies
found in recovered patients. At Gigagen, a San Francisco-based biotech startup
founded by Stanford University professor Dr. Everett Meyer, scientists are identifying
the right antibodies from recovered COVID-19 patients and hoping to use them as a
template for synthesizing new ones, in a more consistent and efficient way so a
handful of donors could potentially produce enough antibodies to treat millions of
patients. “What GigaGen’s technology does is almost Xerox copy a big swath of the
human repertoire of antibodies, and then takes those copies and grows it in cells [in
the lab] to manufacture more antibodies outside of the human body,” says Meyer. “So
we can essentially keep up with the virus.” If all goes well and the FDA approves, the
company intends to start testing their antibody concoctions in COVID-19 patients early
next year.
5. LY6E Protein
Researchers at Rockefeller University discovered in 2017 that human cells
make LY6E protein that can block a virus’s ability to make copies of itself. While
working with other scientists, they found out that mice genetically engineered to not
produce the protein became sicker, and were more likely to die after infection with
mouse-specific coronaviruses, compared to mice that were able to make the protein.
According to them, if the mice have the protein, they will pretty much survive and if the
mice does not have it, the mice would not survive because their immune system can’t
control the virus. These studies haven’t yet been done on SARS-CoV-2, given its
similarity to the original SARS virus, there’s hope a therapy based on LY6e might be
useful.
6. Immune-system changes triggered by stress
Some companies are looking at broader immune-system changes triggered by
stress-during cancer, for example, or infection with a new virus like SARS-CoV-2- that
end up making it easier for a virus to infect cells. Drugs that inhibit these stress-related
changes would act like molecular gates slamming shut on the cells that viruses are
trying to infect.
Familiar Gas: Nitric Oxide
Because SARS-CoV-2 preferentially attacks lung tissue and causes cells in the
respiratory tract to launch a hyperactive immune response, researchers are exploring ways to
tame that aggressive response by dousing those cells with nitric oxide. It is often used to relax
blood vessels and open up blood flow in hospital patients on ventilators. While working on a
new, portable system for delivering nitric oxide developed by Bellerophon Therapeutics to
treat a breathing disorder in newborns, Dr. Roger Alvarez, an assistant professor of medicine
at University of Miami, thought the gas might be helpful for COVID-19 patients as well. One of
the symptoms of the viral infection is low oxygen levels in the lungs, and nitric oxide is ideally
designed to grab more oxygen molecules from the air with each breath and feed it to the
lungs. Also, he believed that with the help of the system, patients don’t need to be in the
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and patients can be placed in a regular hospital or even in a bed at
home. Dr. Alvarez has received emergency use authorization from the FDA to test a version
of his system on one COVID-19 patient at the University of Miami Health System and that
patient improved and is ready to go home.
Placental Cell Treatment

On April 1, researchers at New Jersey received FDA clearance for its placental cell
treatment, based on a group of immune cells called “natural killer cells” that circulate in the
placenta, and are designed to protect the developing fetus from infection.
The Solidarity Trial
According to the article written by Austin Salameda on April 21, 2020 in DNX News,
the World Health Organization (WHO) together with their partners made a multinational
initiative to compare untested treatments for hospitalized people with severe COVID-19
illness. The trials aim to give rapid insights on key clinical questions: Do any of the drugs
reduce mortality? Do any of the drugs reduce the time a patient is hospitalized? Do the
treatments affect the need for people with COVID-19-induced pneumonia to be ventilated or
maintained in intensive care? And could such drugs be used to minimize the illness of COVID-
19 infection in healthcare staff and people at high risk of developing severe illness?
The solidarity trial hopes to “dramatically cut down the time needed to generate robust
evidence about what drugs work”. The drugs in question are remdesivir, lopinavir + ritonavir
combination, lopinavir + ritonavir + interferon-beta combination, and Hydroxychloroquine /
Chloroquine. Remdesevir was created and developed by Gilead Sciences as a treatment for
Ebola virus and Marburg virus infections and it has an antiviral activity in vitro against multiple
virus families including coronavirus. Lopinavir/ritonavir is used in SARS-CoV-1 and its data
are promising, however for COVID-19, it is still unclear and the drug did not work well because
they are designed to inhibit HIV and that is why a team of researchers in University of
Colorado is hoping to modify it to find a compound that will bind with the protease of SARS-
CoV-2. Similar to remdesevir, Interferon Beta also has antiviral activity that is involved mainly
in innate immune response and is currently in development to become an inhaled drug for
chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.

Social Distancing, Cleaning, Proper Etiquette and Hygiene (hand washing, avoiding
touching of faces, coughing in elbows, etc.)
Social distancing and proper etiquette and hygiene is one the ways people can do to
prevent the spread of COVID-19. The virus can spread through coughing, sneezing and close
contact. By minimizing the amount of close contact people have with others, the chances of
catching the virus and spreading it loved ones and community is reduced. People who are at
high risk of complications include elderly and people who have serious chronic medical
conditions like heart disease, diabetes and lung disease. Also, through the proper etiquette
and hygiene, one can avoid catching the disease and spreading it to others. Cleaning and
disinfecting high-touch surfaces regularly is also an important precaution to lower the risk of
infection. When it comes to handling food, it is important to clean the vegetables properly, the
canned goods that came from the supermarket to avoid transmission.
References
Cleaning and hygiene tips to help keep the COVID-19 virus out of your home. (n.d.). Retrieved
April 29, 2020, from https://www.unicef.org/coronavirus/cleaning-and-hygiene-tips-help-keep-
coronavirus-covid-19-out-your-home
Cortegiani, A., Ingoglia, G., Ippolito, M., Giarratano, A., & Einav, S. (2020, March 10). A
systematic review on the efficacy and safety of chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19.
Retrieved April 29, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32173110
Dayrit, F. M., & Newport, M. T. (2020, February 11). The Potential of Coconut Oil and its
Derivatives as Effective and Safe Antiviral Agents Against the Novel Coronavirus (nCoV-
2019). Retrieved April 29, 2020, from
https://www.ateneo.edu/ls/sose/sose/news/research/potential-coconut-oil-and-its-derivatives-
effective-and-safe-antiviral
Gov’t studying effects of local medicinal herbs against COVID-19. (2020, April 28). Retrieved
April 29, 2020, from https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/technology/govt-studying-effects-of-
local-medicinal-herbs-against-covid-19/ar-BB13gWuE?li=BBr8Mkn
Nazario, D. (2020, April 27). DOST looks into herbal medicine against COVID-19. Retrieved
April 29, 2020, from https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/04/27/dost-looks-into-herbal-medicine-
against-covid-19/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=9be11f811cee74e63c813235a23605387991d7a6-
1588164796-0-Ae4zqRWTK-mNxh8wfJzMezFZfdCz2esf_iKOz6XA3QSI3hv-M-qOeJZG-
T5U1xeOs4FLvea2zkdZn6d1G7ONvlYBGE5-ZZfF9nW1-
rqM3GkUn2jSY_3uuTq75L91ycWZ1cBB1fNZevChGuxbE7rTaMPwaM6-
lQQQdTda9FwsaFlEqdYtOZoO1we7Fjc4ga5-
_G8kpL17Cv_xIIFJYBXe2bA1zJwtqiVPu2fCczk4XaDdPc9gc2T6MmdNhhoTevzz1oIw76xZ9J
4O_yu8W7eY6uPtblSfZ3RKwRPGrgtWx1U6uh7ENJMJbur2g-
zSzAgEBdEDceVFOldWBAk9gBikZTcMp5K81b6WSkedrw1DX8kG
Park, A. (2020, April 14). Potential Coronavirus Treatments Researchers Are Examining.
Retrieved April 29, 2020, from https://time.com/5819965/coronavirus-treatments-research/
Salameda, A. (2020, April 21). The CoviD-19 Saga: Finding a Cure. Retrieved April 29, 2020,
from http://www.dnx.news/covid-19/the-covid-19-saga-finding-a-cure-part-2/
Sambatyon, E. (2020, April 29). Virgin Coconut Oil for COVID-19 treatment clinical trials
expanded to CALABARZON. Retrieved April 29, 2020, from
https://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/virgin-coconut-oil-for-covid-19-treatment-clinical-trials-
expanded-to-calabarzon/
Sambatyon, E. (2020, April 5). Philippine Virgin Coconut Oil treatment for COVID-19 patients
on clinical trial in UP-PGH, NCR, Region IV-A hospitals. Retrieved April 29, 2020, from
https://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/philippine-virgin-coconut-oil-treatment-for-covid-19-
patients-on-clinical-trial-in-up-pgh-ncr-region-iv-a-hospitals/
Sambatyon, E. (2020, February 4). Coconut oil an effective agent against Novel Coronavirus,
according to Ateneo study. Retrieved April 29, 2020, from
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according-to-ateneo-study/
Social Distancing FAQ: How It Helps Prevent COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and Steps We Can
Take to Protect Ourselves. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2020, from
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covid-19-coronavirus-/
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https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/global-research-on-novel-
coronavirus-2019-ncov/solidarity-clinical-trial-for-covid-19-treatments

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF 1ST, 2ND, 3RD CYCLE OF
PANDEMIC? GIVE YOUR POINT OF VIEW OR
ASSESSMENT?
Marynelle Z. Centino
April 2020
When the news broke about this pandemic, I’ve seen a lot of articles online saying that
this pandemic is not even that alarming, that people should not panic, but there was this posts
on facebook about the screenshots captured in a certain youtube video saying that thousands
of people were already affected by this pandemic and that this should not be taken lightly.
One of the frontliners in Wuhan China, where this pandemic started, bravely told every bits of
information he knew about this pandemic. I came across one the youtube videos related to
this pandemic, a video of a brave Wuhan netizen putting his life on the line to tell us that this
pandemic had greatly affected many people’s lives. He was telling all the viewers about the
things that were happening in Wuhan even though the government told them not to. According
to the news in China, the first stage of this pandemic is curable so that’s why they are telling
people not to panic but, at first, they hid the fact that, there’s a second stage or phase to this
pandemic and there is no current cure or vaccine for this. I’m not sure if they were hiding it so
people will not panic or they just don’t want the truth to be revealed to public for the
government’s benefits or what but all I know is that, their people deserve to know about these
things. While watching the video, I was wondering why they were denied the access to almost
all of the resources like gas, and such, they were not allowed to use internet, not allowed to
contact people from outside or from other country, he said that before the news broke, people
there especially the officials were outside, doing their vices, but now, the city became a ghost
town. They can’t even go outside, sick people can’t come to the hospital because they were
denied access to gas, etc., transportations were nowhere, hospital wards are limited,
frontliners cannot accommodate all of the patients, traditional medicines don’t work at all, he
said that people have to fall in line in the hospital and that the government is hiding the truth
behind this pandemic. These were before the pandemic made its way to the other countries.
Philippines is one of the countries that became an evacuation of the Chinese people. This
pandemic will not spread like wildfire if only the government took early precautionary
measures like what the other countries did, like banning tourists from entering the country.
People were already suggesting things to the government for the better. Sure, the first cycle of
this pandemic is not really that alarming since there is cure/vaccine, but there were cases that
shows no symptoms at all, and how would a person know that he is already positive from the
virus? Especially those people who can’t even afford medicines or hospital bills that they will
only let the illness pass because they think that it will go away soon and will not really affect
their health. The second phase of this pandemic is really scary, hundreds of people are dying
in the country, thousands from other countries like Italy, or more? Because I came across
some news, a front liner informing us that we should not believe what the news is saying
because it is as if, most of it were fabricated, like the deaths of the victims, every day, 10
patients die, some corpses were in the hallway of the hospital. People deserve to know the
truth about this pandemic, we have the right to know because even if you tell people to calm
down, some just doesn’t and won’t calm down unless they know what’s really happening, they
will worry about their safety.
If in the second cycle of this pandemic became really alarming to everyone, since
there were higher cases and deaths in a single day, the third cycle now can be considered as
a good progress. Implemented lockdowns and protocols that need to be followed are good
and all, but of course there are also disadvantages to these protocols, bayanihan helps a lot
too with the recoveries and for the everyday necessities of many families. The biggest
disadvantages of these lockdown and protocols are, the lifestyle of everyone, the income of
the workers especially those who are doing blue collar jobs, the country’s economy, students
‘studies and graduations, people not getting help from the government or their barangays,
starvation of the poor, people rallying and risking more lives amidst the pandemic, and such. It
is understandable that even though we are amidst this pandemic, some people will not just
stay still and starve to death, they are willing to break the rules because they have a family to
support and feed because not people are born rich, not people are well-educated. But we
should keep our composure and help one another instead of beating the nuts out of someone
who’s only intention is to feed his/her family that’s why they are breaking the rules. We should
be patient and understand the situation of others. Because this pandemic is seriously not a
joke. Coronaviruses that commonly circulate among humans that causes mild illness and cold
are not the same as COVID-19. The diagnosis may vary depending on the virus circulating.
The second phase of this virus that has not been previously identified poses more threat to
our lives, the diagnosis with the previous corona viruses, 229E, NL63, OC43, or HKU1 is not
the same as COVID-19. Patients that suffer from COVID-19 is most like to be evaluated,
cared for and treated differently than those with the common corona virus diagnosis. However,
looking at the brighter side of this, the rate of the reported cases is still alarming but is now
slowing down. It is good to hear that there are more recoveries from day to day. We just have
to be more patient, cooperative, help each other, and most importantly, pray, pray that this
pandemic will come to an end soon, pray for the safety of those people who are risking their
lives to save us from this pandemic and pray for the souls of those who have died, pray for the
souls of those people who still choose to benefit from all of this pandemic instead of helping
one another. We’ll get through these things, soon. I hope that there are more realizations that
have come to mind, more important things like the time we spend with our families. I hope that
this will become a lesson to all of us.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE OF ECQ OR ENHANCED
COMMUNITY QUARANTINE AND GCQ OR GENERAL
COMMUNITY QUARANTINE? IN THIS METHOD IT WILL BE
EFFECTIVE DURING THE PANDEMIC TIME TO FLATTEN
THE CURVE?
Lennon Paul D. Cabrera
April 2020
COVID-19 or Corona Virus disease is an infectious disease caused by a newly
discovered virus that came from Wuhan, China. According to timeline created by WHO (World
Health Organization), Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, China reported a cluster of cases
of pneumonia in Wuhan Hubei Province where a novel coronavirus was eventually identified.
The first case of COVID-19 outside China was January 13, 2020 in Thailand, and now it has
become pandemic. In order to apprehend this pandemic, all of the countries affected started a
lockdown. And here in the Philippines, the government took action by implementing Enhanced
Community Quarantine or ECQ which is effectively a total lockdown. And as the confirmed
cases rises and as the weeks goes by, ECQ extends. And now in our 6th week of ECQ
President Duterte announces ECQ and GCQ starting May 1 to May 15, 2020.
What is the difference of ECQ or Enhanced Community Quarantine and GCQ or
General Community Quarantine?
Enhanced Community Quarantine or ECQ and General Community Quarantine are
quite similar in a way of restricting the movement of people but with exceptions. However,
GCQ is a less strict quarantine than ECQ.
Enhanced Community Quarantine in order to prevent or avoid the spreading of the
virus has three main rules to be followed.
• Restriction of the People’s Movement – Mass gathering, public transportation
and School classes are prohibited. “Work from Home” is applied. Going outside of their homes
are also prohibited. People are only allowed to go outside to just buy basic needs such as
food, medicines etc. And “Social Distancing” is strictly applied.
• Allowed and Disallowed Establishments – Non-essential businesses are not
allowed to operate, only companies who provide food and medicine, gasoline stations and
funeral services are allowed.
• Travel Restrictions – International and domestic transportation through air and
sea are prohibited.
General Community Quarantine is less-strict than ECQ. According to Presidential
spokesperson Harry Roque here are the rules and guidelines of GCQ
1. Selected workers in nonessential services are allowed to go to work. Companies in
electronics, exports, manufacturing, e-commerce, delivery, repair services, maintenance, and
housing can resume full operations as long as they observe minimum health standards such
as physical distancing. Those in finance, business process outsourcing (BPO), and non-
leisure trade and services can have half of its employees work from home while the remaining
50 percent are working on site. Schools, amusement centers, leisure facilities, gaming, and
tourism services must remain closed
2. Children (0 to 20 years old), elderly (60 years old and above), and people with high-
risk health issues are not allowed to go out of their homes
3. Non-leisure shops in malls are allowed to reopen. Malls should limit entry of
shoppers and implement mandatory temperature check and mandatory use of masks and
alcohol. They were also told to turn up the air-conditioning temperature and stop offering free
WiFi to discourage people to "linger" inside the malls
4. Priority construction projects can resume
5. Non-workers, except children, elderly, vulnerable people, are allowed to buy food
and go out to avail of essential services
6. Public transport can operate at reduced capacity to ensure social distancing
7. Local government units shall enforce curfew for non-workers
8. Airports and ports can only operate for the unhampered delivery of goods
There are still some restrictions that will be implemented to stop people from loitering
around. For one, Roque said malls that will reopen next month are required to keep the
centralized temperature at 26 degrees Celsius and to shut off the free wifi service. Minimum
health standards like the wearing of masks, taking of body temperatures, and handwashing
protocols will also continue to be enforced.

“Health experts, including the World Health Organization, have warned that hastily
lifting quarantine restrictions — which include the suspension of mass transportation and the
imposition of stay-at-home orders — may lead to a second wave of infections, just like in
Singapore, which initially arrested the spread of COVID-19, but later faced a resurgence of the
viral disease.” – CNN
In this method it will be effective during the pandemic time to flatten the curve?
Both methods are for preventing the spread of the virus. ECQ is the action took to
avoid the spread of the virus and restrict the movement of the people. ECQ was the main
action that took place in order to do an effective total lockdown all over Luzon. While GCQ is
implemented to those places that are moderate-risk areas and low-risk areas that can be
affected by the spread of the virus.
As we all know, China was the first epicenter of the COVID-19 where the virus was
discovered. And eventually after the total lockdown that the implemented and now China has
healed and conquered the virus. The next epicenter was in Europe Italy to be specific, where
the cases of corona virus swiftly increased. After Europe, and as of today, the epicenter of the
virus is in USA. And now, Brazil emerges on becoming the next corona virus epicenter. In our
cases, it is not impossible that South East Asia can be the next epicenter. ECQ or total
lockdown can possibly be effective during this pandemic to flatten the curve. China is a proof
that total lockdown can probably stop the spreading of the virus because as of now they are
slowly healing. This method can possibly be effective to flatten the curve of the cases in
spreading the virus slowly if we will just follow the guidelines of ECQ.
We may not stop easily and quickly this pandemic but for me, I know we can prevent it from
spreading one step at a time and beat COVID-19. But of course it would not be possible if we
people are not going to cooperate to our government by simply following the rules
implemented. We are the ones that should be helping rather than being selfish or
discriminating and criticizing. For the sake of our country and especially the front liners who
are sacrificing everything in order to fight against this pandemic. Let’s just help one another,
because I know that humanity is what we need in this kind of situation and to win this fight.

BENEFITS OF USING LAGUNDI AND VIRGIN COCONUT OIL
AGAINST COVID-19
Kurt Dariel D. Bermudez
April 2020
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is looking into the benefits of
using local herbal medicine against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). According to a
24 Oras report by Joseph Morong on Monday, the DOST is leading the study of virgin coconut
oil, lagundi, and tawatawa as possible supplements to the diet of COVID-19 patients. The
Department of Health earlier announced that the DOST has launched a study on the effects of
virgin coconut oil on COVID-19 cases.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday said the DOST will also look into
lagundi and tawatawa.
“Meron na po tayong apat na gamot na sinasubject po natin sa clinical trial… [Ang]
pang-apat na pag-aaral ay may kinalaman po sa herbal drugs. Isa sa tinitingnan ay ang
lagundi po,” he said.
“Pinag-aaralan din po ng DOST kung makakatulong yung tawatawa na tinatawag para
po isang supplement sa dengue,” he added. “Ito po ay titingnan nila kung epektibo nga laban
sa COVID-19.” -- Julia Mari Ornedo/BAP, GMA News
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is set to hold clinical trials to test
the efficacy of virgin coconut oil to improve the condition of confirmed and probable COVID-19
patients.
This was disclosed by President Rodrigo Duterte in his fifth weekly report to Congress
as mandated by the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. Duterte’s report however did not state a
specific date for the start of the clinical trials.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said last week that the DOST was
studying the use of virgin coconut oil as a supplement to the diets of people who have tested
positive for the deadly virus.
The President also said the DOST approved and allocated funds for the project that
would allow University of the Philippines Manila and 22 hospitals to participate in a

“multicenter trial” that will provide data on the efficacy of candidate anti-viral drugs to Filipinos
infected with COVID-19.
Last Saturday, the Department of Health reported that Philippines and Japan have
started initial arrangements for the potential testing of Japanese flu drug Avigan to treat
COVID-19 patients.
Duterte earlier said the Philippines is ready to participate in clinical trials and medical
studies of potential vaccines and medicines such as Avigan.
He said that the DOST also funded two clinical trials of Virgin Coconut Oil that are
being conducted by the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). DOST Secretary Fortunato dela
Pena has mentioned that VCO will serve as a supplement to the daily treatment regimen of
the COVID-19 positive patients. The study aims to assess the possible benefits of VCO if
given to patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 in addition to the drugs being assessed
in the clinical trials.
The second study is being implemented by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute
of DOST which will evaluate the effect of VCO in alleviating the symptoms of COVID-19 such
as difficulty in breathing and coughing.
This study is in partnership with Dr. Fabian Dayrit of the Ateneo De Manila University
and the Duke-National University of Singapore (Duke-NUS). The study will determine whether
certain coconut oil components can diminish or prevent the infectivity of SARS-CoV2, the
causative virus of COVID-19.
According to Roque, the country has also joined World Health Organization solidarity
trial. “Ito po ay bunsod sa kagustuhan ng ating Presidente na makipagtulungan ayo sa lahat
ng mga dalubhasa sa buong mundo upang magkaroon na po tayo ng vaccine o ‘di naman
kaya ay gamot para dito sa COVID-19 (This is due to the desire of the President to collaborate
with experts around the world so we can develop a vaccine or a cure for COVID-19),” he said.
The DOST has already initiated contact for possible collaboration with its bilateral
partners to aid the COVID-19 situation in the country. It said that it has specifically expressed
its willingness to collaborate with other countries on clinical trials on COVID-19 vaccine
development, that will help not just the country, but also all countries affected by this
pandemic.
Roque disclosed that there are four drugs that are being subjected to clinical trials
involving Filipino patients. These are chloroquine or hydrochloroquine [hydroxychloroquine],
remdesivir, liponavir, ritonavir, and interferon.
He also revealed that there is a study of a COVID-19 treatment by a biotech group in
collaboration with PGH that is also being subjected to clinical trials at the hospital. “Ito pong
posibleng gamot na ito ay nagnanais na ma-alleviate po ang mga active infections at
magbigay po ng short-term immunity or prophylaxis laban sa virus (This drug aims to alleviate
the active infections and give short-term immunity or prophylaxis against the virus),” Roque
said.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is set to hold clinical trials to test
the efficacy of virgin coconut oil to improve the condition of confirmed and probable COVID-19
patients.
This was disclosed by President Rodrigo Duterte in his fifth weekly report to Congress
as mandated by the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
Duterte’s report however did not state a specific date for the start of the clinical trials.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said last week that the DOST was
studying the use of virgin coconut oil as a supplement to the diets of people who have tested
positive for the deadly virus.
The President also said the DOST approved and allocated funds for the project that
would allow University of the Philippines Manila and 22 hospitals to participate in a
“multicenter trial” that will provide data on the efficacy of candidate anti-viral drugs to Filipinos
infected with COVID-19.
In conclusion, it is great to think that we have this kind of resources and we can get
benefits from these herbs. I am interested on how these herbs will affect and fight COVID-19
in the future and I hope that this can at least relief the symptoms of the COVID-19 patients.
References:
Nazario, D. (April 2020)
https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/04/27/dost-looks-into-herbal-medicine-against-covid-19/
Lopez, V. (April 2020)
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/science/735800/dost-to-begin-clinical-trials-on-
virgin-coconut-oil-s-efficacy-vs-covid-19/story/

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Lance Giolo D. Dela Cruz
April 2020
1. What are the possible digital transformation due to the effect of Covid19?
• Telecommuting - The most disruptive transition to occur as a result of COVID-19
outbreak is the widespread adoption of telecommuting. Although remote work is now more
common than it was ten years ago, a recent survey showed that 49% of employees have
never worked from home. Some objections companies had to telecommuting beforehand.
COVID-19 may be the moment that takes it into the mainstream and shows leaders that
workers can be just as successful and effective from home with the right technology,
culture and expectations. Both in-office and from-home work has its benefits, and it will be
worth it for businesses to figure out how to bring the best of the two together. Flexible,
shifted, or shortened in-office days could help minimize office sizes and reduce commute
hours, and online collaboration practices will accelerate work cycles to offset those shorter
hours.
• Virtual Events - One of the COVID-19 outbreak's largest and most immediate
casualties was the event industry, as well as the travel and hospitality industries that
sustain it. Globally, to minimize the spread of the disease, conventions, trade shows and
even the Olympics were cancelled or postponed. Any of these events are respawned as
virtual events, which could eventually not only be a trend in 2020 but the new standard for
experiences. It's unclear if the style lasts. For trade shows, the measure of success is in
the value of the revenues they produce and peer to peer connections they create, and it
remains to be seen if virtual events will drive business with the same impact as physical
ones. But if they do, then maybe their appeal can last. With less attendant and promoter
costs and greater versatility in service formats, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some events
remain virtual in the future.
2. How we can shift to the new normal in digital aspect/IT?
• Build new relations with customers through effective digital experiences - Digital
experiences matter more than ever, with many people quarantined in their homes. Leading
organizations should recognize the ones that matter most to create new and deeper
consumer relationships, and strengthen them. In other words: during the pandemic, follow
your clients, then lead them out of it. This involves recognizing the significant change to
networks of online marketing, sales and communication, not just in retail but also in
sectors such as insurance, banking and healthcare. Leaders will make rapid
improvements to their digital channels, starting with eliminating bottlenecks and prioritizing
ever more important "episodes" of customers, such as late payments, cancellations and
moves to online service. All this should be underpinned by data. Efficient use of it can help
businesses collect input and perspectives from consumers so they can easily test ideas,
learn from them and build stronger customer bonds.
• Create a war room which is digitally activated - The Covid-19 war rooms of
companies will benefit from technology which increases transparency and responsiveness,
and better, near-real-time data to support successful decision-making. Examples may
include the introduction of digital tools to closely track consumer sentiment and behavior,
improve accountability and responsiveness in the supply chain and replace traditional
methods of planning with advanced scenario- and trigger-based planning. These tools will
outlast the pandemic and provide the capabilities necessary for companies to accelerate
out of it.
• Investing in technology with a view to the future - Many businesses have taken
steps to ensure that IT systems are stable, allowing remote work and organizational
flexibility. Some have also begun to protect themselves against new cyber-threats that
arose during the crisis. Both are critical priorities. But leading companies will go a step
further, investing in their technology infrastructure to drive their digital transformation and
putting themselves in a better position from the pandemic that comes out.
DUE TO THE EFFECT OF COVID 19? HOW WE CAN WE
Kristine Gaile M. Patricio
April 2020
The urgent health crisis that is COVID-19, a pandemic, has created deprivation and
unemployment, creating a human crisis that is hitting the poorest the hardest. With the
pandemic going on, online sales have increased across the globe, with new digital activities—
from ordering groceries online to telemedicine—becoming standard behavior. Class and work-
related businesses were also shifted to online processes. Almost every transaction that was
made personally were now into the online processes, becoming the new normal this pandemic
season.
Changes with the transactions that were held personally before this pandemic should
be managed efficiently to avoid burnouts and such. Launching QR payments or building
contactless product-delivery capabilities to serve customers in a manner that safeguards their
health. Providing help transition for customers from offline to online channels, such as creating
incentives and support infrastructure (for example, scaling up help desks). Identifying back-
office tasks that can be digitized and automated to support employees working from home,
such as code tests and expense approvals. Identifying what infrastructure needs to be in
place to support the development of new digital channels and customer experiences, such as
using micro services or migrating particular capabilities to the cloud to enable rapid
provisioning and load balancing.
With regards to the educational aspect of the ‘new norm’ after this crisis, the
government is now considering every possibility with regards to resuming of classes.
Department of Education is preparing a Learning Continuity Plan on how t deliver education to
learners is being prepared in case the opening of classes gets pushed back. They should also
think about those who cannot afford to have online classes due to unavailability of internet
connection. Not everyone in our country can afford an internet connection and they’re still a
big number of families that are living in remote areas.

POSSIBLE COMMUNITY MITIGATION IN PREVENTING
COVID-19 PANDEMIC DISEASES
COEN 3473: Computer Technopreneurship
John Richard N. Clapano
April 2020
PROBLEM
What are the possible community mitigation to in prevent covid19 or pandemic
diseases in order to solve and flattening the curve? Support your answer by graph and
analysis interpretation.
INTRODUCTION
In this paper, created as a remedial supplemental assignment for Comp-
Technopreneurship, we will explore the possible courses of action that may be undertaken by
communities to solve prevent further spread of pandemics in the Philippines, COVID-19
particular.
The most common current response our National Government, led by Rodrigo Duterte,
is a Nationwide lockdown for all communities. This step was taken to prevent the transmission
of the said virus by lessening social interactions between the citizens, and in effect, lessening
also, physical contact.
It is now up to local communities to battle the spread of the virus in their respective
districts. These communities in particular are led by Local Government Units (LGUs). To
counter the disastrous pitfalls of the pandemic, these LGUs have the ability to enforce certain
laws during these special times.
POSSIBLE COURSES OF ACTION:
To flatten the curve here in the Philippines, both the Local Government Unit, and
National Government may work together and take.
The most common current response our National Government, led by Rodrigo Duterte,
is a Nationwide lockdown for all communities. This step was taken to prevent the transmission
of the said virus by lessening social interactions between the citizens, and in effect, lessening
also, physical contact.

It is now up to local communities to battle the spread of the virus in their respective
districts. These communities in particular are led by Local Government Units (LGUs). To
counter the disastrous pitfalls of the pandemic, these LGUs have the ability to enforce certain
laws during these special times.
There are a total of four courses of action that can be implemented towards the
community to flatten the curve of infection, each with a different impact to Filipino communities
and the spread of the pandemic.
1. Exponential Curve
This is when the Filipino LGU and Nat’l government does not practice the use of
“social distancing”. It is the worst possible response to the pandemic and would result in the
entire population being infected.

In addition to this, there would be people who would eventually recover labeled as
purple. In this simulation of 200 people, here is how the curve looks when the whole
population is infected
2. Attempted Quarantine
To slow the spread of the virus, LGUs can implement a forced quarantine. This is
when the spread of the virus has already begun to infect a majority of the population.
This will be the result if all people stay home, regardless of their jobs. In a similar
manner, this is the type of quarantine implemented by the Chinese Government on Hubei.
3. Moderate Distancing
In this example, only essential workers and officials are allowed to go out, making up
about 1/4th of the population, this is the current course of action undertaken by the Philippine
Government and general Filipino Public.
4. Extensive Distancing
In an ideal situation, only 1 in every 8 people would be allowed to move or go outside, taking
care to follow all safety procedures regarding the pandemic.

SUMMARY:
Flattening the curve means lessening the risk of infection. These four courses of action
revolve around the idea of restricting citizen movement and physical interaction, therefore
lessening the transmission of the virus.
Communities can follow the safety guidelines towards hygiene and personal health to
ensure that they too can help their community fight against COVID-19. By restricting public
interaction to only the essential people, the community will greatly benefit towards fighting this
pandemic.

COLLEGE OF COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT
Main Building A. Mabini Campus Sta. Mesa, Manila
WHAT METHOD DID THE VIETNAM COUNTRY WHY THERE
WAS NO DEATH CASUALTY REPORT IN THE COVID-19
PANDEMIC?
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
Angelica C. Hermoso
BS Information Technology 2-1
April 2020
The reason why Vietnam, a developing country that has a large land border with China
and a population of 97 million people, has manage to have zero casualty despite of the
dangerous pandemic that we are facing right now is a three effective strategy of their
government. As of April 21, they had reported 268 cases of COVID-19 with more than 140
recoveries. In this scenario, we can say that their strategies are effective.
First of their strategies is the temperature screening and testing. In February, anyone
who arrive in their airport or entering their cities had to go through compulsory body
temperature screening and fill in a health self-declaration, stating their contact details and
travel and health history. These measures are now mandatory for everyone entering major
cities and some provinces by land too, and for everyone entering a government building or
hospital.
Anyone with a body temperature of over 38C is taken to the nearest medical facility for
more thorough testing. Those who are proven to have lied in their self-declaration, or who
resist declaring altogether, can be criminally charged. Businesses including banks,
restaurants and apartment complexes have also implemented their own screening
procedures.
There has also been intensive testing across the country. Testing stations have been
set up across cities, which all citizens can attend. Communities who live near confirmed cases
– sometimes an entire street or village – are swiftly tested and placed in lockdown. And they
have testing kits that is showing result within 90 minutes and very reliable.
Second is the targeted lockdown in which anyone who are arriving to their country
must quarantine themselves for about 14 days. They are very strict about the lockdown. In
March, Vietnam started to lock down whole cities and specific areas in a city. Travelling
between cities is now highly restricted. In Danang in central Vietnam, anyone who is not a
registered resident of the city but wishes to enter has to submit to a 14-day quarantine at a
government-approved facility which they must finance themselves. Also, all the businesses
are close.
Lastly is the constant communication. As early as January, their government is
constantly communicating with their citizens about how serious this pandemic is. The
communication between high rank people and the citizens are very intact so the result is very
well.
These strategies that the Vietnam government are implementing is very useful and
helpful. It resulted to a zero casualty so we can say that it works and it can be implemented to
other countries with proper discipline.

WHAT METHOD DID THE VIETNAM COUNTRY WHY THERE
WAS NO DEATH CASUALTY REPORT IN THE COVID-19
PANDEMIC?
Jerameel G. Pilambato
April 2020
Our world is suffering in COVID-19, how could a country like Vietnam government can
provide quality health service if they have lack of health facilities? Vietnam is not as wealthy
compared to other Asian country like South Korea and China to conduct mass testing for
Coronavirus, so how they maintain the small number of cases in their country?
Vietnam has the fast actioned government, imagine the Vietnam Prime Minister
suspended all the flights to and from China as soon as they knew the risk of the virus for the
citizens. Anyone arriving to Vietnam from foreign country will undergo a mandatory 14-day
quarantine, meaning they will be isolated to prevent the spread of the virus. It has also
isolated infected people and then set about tracking down anyone they might have come into
contact with.
Neighborhood Watch, an act of government to monitor each and every home on any
symptoms that may occur in a citizen. As a single-party state, with large and well-organized
military and security services, Vietnam has been able to make decisions quickly and enact
them promptly. There is also a strong culture of surveillance, with people expected to inform
on their neighbors if they suspect any wrong-doing. Anyone found sharing fake news and
misinformation about the coronavirus risks a visit from the police, and around 800 people have
been fined so far.
Vietnam is one of the world’s poorer and developing nation and yet they are making
the fastest action that they can to fight this pandemic. Vietnam has stood out as a beacon of
how to do more with less, they might not be as wealthy as other Asian country to do a mass
testing but they have the fastest actioned government to deal with this pandemic. The country
is so much prepared even though the facilities are not enough, the citizens are doing their part
to stay at home to stop the spread of the virus. Try to imagine, if this country can make this
such good control on the virus why other countries cannot. They don’t have so much facilities
but they have the fastest actioned government and well-disciplined citizens to limit the spread
of the virus. Let put this in our mind, if everyone is doing what they have to do to prevent the
spread of the virus there will no problem, but if they be still do what is right to prevent it the
virus will spread like it is not supposed to spread. Let us be like Vietnam, do what is right to
prevent the spread of the virus so there will be a wonderful world that will wait for us.

QUANTITATIVE METHODS WITH MODELLING AND
SIMULATION
Angelica Marie L. Borja
April 2020
Vietnam against Covid-19 Pandemic
Today we face a pandemic that caused the whole world to stop all of daily routines and
greatly affect our everyday life. The biggest and most successful countries is striving to fight
this crisis and what most suffers is the poor countries who is not capable to support and cure
its people. But how did Vietnam react and fight Covid-19 despite being a developing country?
How did Vietnam react as the Covid-19 cases rise?
Swift action, as early as the 1st of February Vietnam reportedly suspended all flights
from China. They also suspended school and after 2 weeks they already issued a quarantine.
Unlike to what happened in countries like Italy and South Korea, the country and its people
took this problem very seriously.
All people that will go inside Vietnam will have to go in a 14-day quarantine and if it is
infected they track those who had a contact with that person. This act prevents spreading of
virus all throughout the nation because not all of the person with the virus know that they had
it. Also, people from the neighborhood reports if ever there’s one infected in the neighborhood.
It was also reported that Vietnamese has reported not only potential infected people but also
those who spreads fake news in the neighborhood. Even though Vietnam has a close
relationship with China, they were not afraid to do what is best for their country. That’s why
even though Vietnam is one of the country with improving Health care system, they have less
cases of the virus than those who is leading. Still Vietnam has no death report up until today.
Vietnam prepared before the 1st case of virus in country was even announced. This is
because, Vietnam wouldn’t afford a mass testing unlike what its neighbor countries do so they
used proactive prevention. The success of Vietnam was all due to its proactive prevention,
before anything happens they were prepared.

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POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE FLATTENING OF

COVID-19 CURVE AS A COMPUTER ENGINEER

Presented to Dr. Antonio Y. Velasco

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the subject

COEN 3473 Computer Technopreneurship

Jazmin Jade L. Escolano

BS Computer Engineering 5-1

Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

Department of Health in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.

across the 17 regions of the Philippines.

of April 25, 2020.

Figure 3. Active Cases in the Philippines (as of April 25, 2020)

An equally important challenge, however, is designing and implementing interventions

experiences in other countries, responses to epidemics may have unintended consequences,

month if left without additional support.

manufacturers time to prepare and respond, without becoming overwhelmed.

and actual quarantine decreases opportunities for transmission.

As a Computer Engineering student what I could mostly do is to utilize the technology I

fight against the virus.

(COVID-19) in the Philippines.” Retrieved from

introduces COVID chatbot.” Retrieved from https://www.up.edu.ph/up-resilience-

Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/philippines/

World Health Organization (2020). “Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the

Philippines.” Retrieved from https://www.who.int/philippines/emergencies/covid-19-in-

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

CURVE AS PERSPECTIVE OF COMPUTER ENGINEER

Presented to Dr. Antonio Y. Velasco

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the subject

COEN 3212: Computer Engineering Ethics and Computer Laws

Joseph C. Diza, Jr.

BS Computer Engineering 5-5

6 Steps to Sustainably Flatten the Coronavirus Curve as

Perspective of Computer Engineer

1. Social distancing. Government can implement number of ICT measures to enhance

as part of preventive measures to avoid group contagion in vulnerable facilities including

medical institutions and nursing homes.

propose candidate medicine for the coronavirus.

6. Stabilize the economy. We should be able to create risk stratification methodologies

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

OF PANDEMIC? GIVE YOUR POINT OF VIEW OR

Presented to Dr. Antonio Y. Velasco

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the subject

COEN 3212: Computer Engineering Ethics and Computer Laws

Jenny Ann M. Dellosa

BS Computer Engineering 5-4

setback due to the outbreak.

increased potential for person-to-person transmission. Due to numerous cases in China it

concrete evidence on this theory. As a precautionary measure everyone in China is required

and getting ready. The facemask is starting to have a high demand.

THE WHO PANDEMIC PHASES/CYCLES

WHAT ARE THE 5 ESSENTIAL OR IMPORTANT

INDUSTRIES THAT SHOULD BE OPEN DURING THE

PANDEMIC CRISIS? PREPLANNING IN COMMUNITY

ENGAGEMENT AS YOUR COMPONENT ANALYSIS.

SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER IN GRAPH ANALYSIS.

Presented to Dr. Antonio Y. Velasco

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the subject

COEN 3473: Computer Technopreneurship

BS Computer Engineering 5-1

1. Executive Governance Industry

3. Military and Police Protection Industry

engagement when a pandemic happens.

there is no avoidance of a viral transmittable disease like COVID-19 that is happening