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Philippines poorly prepared to

deal with COVID-19, report says
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By Angela Betsaida B. Laguipo, BSN

Jun 13 2021
Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc.

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19) response against the severe acute
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Study: Early response to COVID-19 in the

Philippines. Image Credit: aldarinho /
Shutterstock.com

Researchers at the College of Medicine at the

University of the Philippines Manila, along
with collaborators at the School of Medicine
and Public Health at the Ateneo de Manila
University, described the challenges and early
response of the Philippines to COVID-19. To
this end, the researchers focused on travel
restrictions, community interventions, risk
communication, and testing between January
30, 2020, which was when the first case in the
country was reported, and March 21, 2020.

In this peer-reviewed study, which was

published in the World Health Organization
(WHO)’s Western Pacific Surveillance and
Response Journal (WPSAR), the authors
discuss the surveillance of and response to
public health events in the Western Pacific
Region. Ultimately, the researchers concluded
that the Philippines’s initial response to the
COVID-19 pandemic lacked organizational
preparedness.

Public health emergencies in the

Philippines

As a developing country, the Philippines

experienced some improvements in its
healthcare system over the past decade.
Despite this, the country continues to face
various challenges in its response to public
health emergencies.

It is estimated that the Philippines has about

10 hospital beds and six doctors per 10,000
people which, taken together, amounts to
only 2,335 critical beds nationwide. Mainly,
the available healthcare resources are
focused in urban areas, while rural areas
experience a lack of available physicians.
Within these rural areas, only one physician is
available for a population of 20,000 people,
with only one bed available for a population
of 1,000.

Although community health centers and local

healthcare workers comprise the primary care
system in the nation, they are often poorly
resourced with limited surge capacity.
Furthermore, while local government has
disaster preparedness plans, these plans are
designed for natural calamities, which the
country often experiences, rather than for
disease outbreaks.

Travel restrictions

The first COVID-19 case in the Philippines was

reported on January 30, 2020. By March, the
cases rose significantly, which prompted the
government to put the northern part of the
country, Luzon, in an enhanced community
quarantine (ECQ) or lockdown by March 15.

The Philippine government implemented

travel restrictions as early as January 28, 2020.
While this prevented the spread of the virus,
travelers from areas that were not included
on the list of restricted countries were not
subject to stringent screening and quarantine
protocols. Meanwhile, those from restricted
countries were subjected to a 14-day
quarantine, testing, and contact tracing.

In the first few weeks after these restrictions

were put in place, the COVID-19 spread was
delayed. However, as time passed, COVID-19
cases began to rise due to viral transmission
within communities, particularly from people
who had no prior travel history.

Community interventions

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When the lockdown or ECQ was implemented

in Luzon, which included Metro Manila,
families were placed on strict home
quarantine. This quarantine consisted of strict
home quarantine in all households, with the
exception of when individuals needed to
acquire essential food and health services.

Additional measurements that were

implemented during this time included work-
from-home schemes, suspension of classes
and distance learning instruction, closure of
public transport and non-essential business
establishments, as well as physical distancing
and the prohibition of public gatherings.

These measures successfully slowed the

spread of the virus; however, it was difficult
for the government to enforce these
restrictions for extended periods of time
because of their severe economic impacts.

Though the lockdown order was just for

Luzon Island, health systems were not
overwhelmed. In fact, the quarantine
regulations gave the Philippines the
opportunity to mobilize resources and
organize its pandemic response.

Risk communication

During the lockdown, the Philippine

government ensured that all plans and
information about the COVID-19 pandemic
would be distributed to all residents and
citizens. The government also strengthened
its national risk communication plans through
press briefings, internet advertisements,
health-related television advertisements, and
infographics on social media.

Despite these efforts, misinformation and

conspiracy theories about COVID-19 emerged
in the Philippines.

Testing

Many countries that were successful in

containing the COVID-19 pandemic
implemented widespread testing. While
testing is key to controlling the pandemic, the
Philippines only performed COVID-19 testing
on a small scale. More specifically, the authors
of the current paper found that by March 19,
2020, fewer than 1,200 people in this nation
had been tested for COVID-19, with the
Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in
Metro Manila being the only institution that
was capable of performing these tests. Due to
the limited capacity of the healthcare system
to conduct mass testing, the Department of
Health (DOH) recommended rationed testing,
wherein strict protocols were implemented.

Study takeaways

The authors of the current study concluded

that the Philippines was not ready for a
pandemic. The disease surveillance system
could conduct contact tracing and, for several
months at the beginning of the pandemic,
only one laboratory was available for COVID-
19 testing. Furthermore, the primary
healthcare system did not serve as a primary
line of defense, which led infected people to
flock to hospitals in cities, thus overwhelming
the healthcare system and critical care
capacity.

&
“The lack of pandemic preparedness had
left the country poorly defended against
the new virus and its devastating effects.
Investing diligently and consistently in
pandemic prepared.”

Taken together, the researchers noted that

the lack of pandemic preparedness had left
the Philippines poorly protected from the
effects of SARS-CoV-2. The pandemic,
therefore, taught the Philippines, as well as
many other nations around the world, that
increasing its investment in the
modernization of hospitals and clinics is
crucial for protecting its citizens against
disease outbreaks in the future. This
investment should also be accompanied by
the development of adequate surveillance,
testing, and contact tracing services.

Journal reference:

Amit, A.M., Pepito, V.C., and Dayrit, Manuel.

(2021). Early response to COVID-19 in the
Philippines. World Health Organization
(WHO)’s Western Pacific Surveillance and
Response Journal (WPSAR) 12(2).
doi:10.5365/wpsar.2020.11.014.
https://ojs.wpro.who.int/ojs/index.php/wps
ar/article/view/725.

Written by

Angela Betsaida B. Laguipo

Angela is a nurse by profession and a writer by

heart. She graduated with honors (Cum
Laude) for her Bachelor of Nursing degree at
the University of Baguio, Philippines. She is
currently completing her Master's Degree
where she specialized in Maternal and Child
Nursing and worked as a clinical instructor
and educator in the School of Nursing at the
University of Baguio.

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