To

The editor

Dear Editor in Chief,

We are students of BNHS, and residents of barangay Poblacion. We are writing to you in order to raise the
issue that the locals and students face in our locality, and bring to your notice the fact that they face stress
caused by COVID-19. We wish to draw the attention of the concerned authorities through the columns of
your humble newspaper, in highlighting this issue.

For a long time, the major content of the news all over the world today are all about COVID-19, and it was
overwhelming. The news coverage made the public feel dazed and even into anxiety and panic. Through the
use of advanced technologies, mobile phones makes the news spread faster that contributed to the anxiety
and panic of public. If this continues further, it may lead to mental problems such as anxiety disorders, and
depression. It is also possible that frequent reports may cause general public anxiety,panic and stress due to
media’s dramatized coverage of the issue. This is an important issue because concerns about media coverage
during a health crisis may likely happen. For most of the locals here in our barangay, the general population
thought that some news about COVID-19 is too much and less reliable. This made them more stressed, and
anxious. Most of them are even scared to even catch colds because they believe that it would automatically
mean that they have COVID-19. Media plays an important role in news dissemination as it also affects
public’s knowledge. Media could help increase the public’s knowledge and prevention tips about COVID-
19. On the other hand, we believe that exaggerated news reports would bring panic, stress and anxiety to the
public. Therefore, all media reporting on public health issues, especially in this times of crisis, should base
on reality and not on exaggeration or falsity.

The public is easily affected by the news. Thus, the public must be critical about unofficial or seemingly
unreliable reports about COVID-19 issue. Public health institutions and official news websites/platforms
could help solve misinformation by updating facts and clarifications about COVID-19. Finally, we suggest
that the government, the media outlets, and the concerned authorities to regulate the news coverage to help
degrade public anxiety and headline stress disorder in this times of health crisis.

An awareness must be created regarding this condition. So, it is our humble request that you highlight this
issue in your newspaper and spread awareness among the public. We believe that media holds the power to
alarm the government and the public to be more responsible towards this problem and measures for
improvement.

Yours Truly,
DCA.