Research Project: Maria Montessori School of Quezon City
Research Project: Maria Montessori School of Quezon City
Research Project: Maria Montessori School of Quezon City
In partial fulfillment of
RESEARCH PROJECT
Submitted to:
Mr. Daryll A. Mortel
Submitted by:
Francisco, Theone Jeanine R
Rebanio, Liberty M.
Salud, Jericho Alex O.
Velasco, Kyana Arwen T.
12 – Tanguile
The Coronavirus which is known as the COVID-19 was declared as a pandemic which
means that it was already prevalent over a whole country or the whole world. On the 30th of
January 2020, the outbreak was declared as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
(World Health Organization, 2020). The virus was believed to be the source of the virus coming
from a live animal market in the province of Wuhan City, Hubei Province from China (Ministry
of Health, 2020) but can now be spread through human transmission of respiratory droplets. This
is why the World Health Organization advised the public to maintain good hygiene by washing
their hands regularly, covering mouth with tissue and avoid touching.
There are several countries all over the world that have already declared lockdown or
community quarantine in attempt to lessen the spread of the said virus outbreak including the
Philippines, specifically Metro Manila which became the first country to shut its financial
markets (The Guardian, 2020) and a metrowide community quarantine was imposed by the
government. (Wikipedia, 2020) As of April 4, 2020 at 6PM, there were over 1,123,023
confirmed cases worldwide. In addition, Italy was seemingly the epicenter of the pandemic with
over 14,681 deaths. Italy surpassed China as the country with the highest death toll and the rate
of increase kept growing, with more than half the cases and fatalities coming.
II. Review of Related Literature
This chapter tackleed two key discussion points of the study: the economic impact of
outbreaks up to pandemic level and its impact to livelihood of citizens and, eventually, the
communities as a whole. The chapter aimed to synthesize all studies from previous known
pandemics and epidemics as a way to analyze the current health concern.
The economic impacts of pandemics to society is that most individuals were not able to
pay the corresponding taxes to the government hence, the government to run out of funds to
support the economy of the country which created a domino effect to all the businesses including
stores, restaurants, theaters, and other businesses to be closed and for the presence of a global
economic recession.
The following are the most affected industries in cases of a pandemic are health, tourism,
and impact to livelihood and community. First of all, health is one of the primary sectors
impacted by the virus including the public and personal health system. The rise in hospital
admissions lead to sudden peaks in administrative and operational expenditure. Another action
that took effect to the economy was the way authorities attempted to contain the spread of a
pandemic. (European Parliament, 2020) People will less likely go about their normal everyday
life, that is, schools are closed or mandatory quarantining of people to avoid the spread of
disease. This immediately reduced the use of transportation and other public services.
Other precautionary measures include mass testing, a method highly recommended by the
World Health Organization (2020) but cost a substantial financial allocation form governments,
specifically the health departments. A spike in cases resulted in shortages of medical supplies.
Agriculture and trade were also greatly affected during the time of pandemic due to the loss of
imports and exports between countries. Taxation were lost and industries that rely solely
exporting goods suffered. (European Parliament, 2020)
Followed by tourism wherein the travel and tourism industry were one of the most
evidently affected sectors by the infectious disease outbreak. During the time of such outbreak,
tourist arrivals declined harshly, even immediately after so. As such, not only did the industry
suffer declines but was also put at a loss. (World Economic Forum, 2019)
Not less than 50 million jobs within the global travel and tourism sector were in danger
because of the spread of coronavirus, with travel likely to slump by quarter this year, Asia being
the foremost affected continent, the globe Travel and Tourism Council has said. (Faus, 2020)
In addition to this, the travel industry needed to ensure the employees were healthy to
remain operational and to mitigate spread of disease. However, tourists did not just face doubts
in the risk level of facing airline or hotel employees but their perceptions also left an impact on
the entire tourism industry. (World Economic Forum, 2019)
During infectious disease outbreak, it is also important to look at the way it affected
people while several industries have stopped, starting with their livelihood and following their
way of life. Since poor populations face the highest risk of spreading an infectious disease to
their communities, in addition to health and economic shocks, preparing for a pandemic must
target the poor and can be done by a number of things. (Oppenheim & Yamey, 2017)
Oppenheim & Yamey suggested to focus on countries with higher risks, meaning
investing in international and domestic public health systems such as human and animal
surveillance. This aided in addressing vulnerability within the poor regions. However, since
coronavirus was not proven to spread through animals, human surveillance could have aided in
curbing infection rates. Secondly, preparedness should be observed at all times, specifically in
providing equal services to citizens regardless of social class. Poor people who get displaced
because of emergencies or civil unrest drove more people into new places, making poor
conditions and increased exposure to health related threats. Many vulnerable sectors suffered
most due to infectious diseases such as measles, acute respiratory infection, and malaria. (World
Economic Forum, 2019)
Countries had to give easy access and sufficient funds for medical supplies and research.
This included pre-purchase agreements that specified minimum coverage for poor countries and
the same pace of disbursement of those technologies. Lastly, investing in economic recovery
from pandemics was necessary. Even wealthy countries faced domestic political pressures to
spend reception and to crack down on discretionary aid spending. Poor households should be
given assistance through safety nets and other sorts of assistance. (Oppenheim & Yamey, 2017)
After putting all the available literature in the context of the Philippines, there were
several data that point to conditions of the economy and the people during the novel coronavirus
pandemic. In the Philippines, 38.3% of the workforce were those from the informal economy
(International Labour Organization, n.d.). This meant at least 1 in 4 Filipino working class
suffered in case of shock, such as the outbreak that happened this year. It was important that such
industry workers were assisted accordingly. The above stated efforts to support the Filipino poor
may help in doing so.
12.7% of the Philippine economy was its tourism industry, but the industry suffered as
the country closed its borders to several countries because of the infection. (Duddu, 2020) As
such, it is important to realize that tourism industry workers needed to be monitored and
safeguarded once travelling to and from the country was deemed safe.
During the time, the country also witnessed a significant increase in demand for medical
supplies, specifically face masks (Duddu, 2020) and medical protective equipment for healthcare
workers. There have been records of frontline health workers who died of the said virus. In this
case, once the virus does get contained, the country must focus on rehabilitating the health
industry among many others.
III. Discussion
i. Philippines
Source: https://ncovtracker.doh.gov.ph/
As of April 4, 2020 at 4:00 PM (PST) there were over 3,094 people infected by the
COVID- 19 in the Philippines. The bar graph showed the confirmed cases by age group wherein
the blue color represented the male population while the purple color represented the female
population. The data showed that the highest rate according to age is between 60 to 69 years old
with the male having the highest number of cases (408) while the female had over 280 cases.
Among the age group, majority of the cases are male, specifically those who were within the age
group of 50 to 59 with over 416 cases. Those with the average number of confirmed cases by age
group were those within the ages 30 to 39 and 40 to 49 with male as the majority. The age group
with the lowest number of cases were within 90 to 99 years old with both male and female
having 4 cases and those that were 0 to 9 years old wherein male had 4 cases while female had 8.
COVID-19: Confirmed cases trends
As of April 4, 2020 at 4:00 PM (PST) there were over 3,094 people infected by the
COVID- 19 in the Philippines. This bar graph showed the confirmed cases trends wherein the
green color represented the number of people who have recovered from the virus while the red
color represented the number of people who died from the virus. It was seen that from mid-
March 9 to March 16, the number of deaths arise continuously from March 23 up until March 30
reaching over 140 confirmed cases. On the other hand, the number of those who recovered arise
from March 16 but only reached 40 total confirmed cases on the 30th of March in comparison to
the number of total confirmed cases of death in the country.
Source: https://www.doh.gov.ph/2019-nCoV
Table: Laboratory Status of Patients in the Philippines (As of 4 April 2020; 4:00 PM)
The table showed the laboratory status of patients in the Philippines as of April 4, 2020 at
4:00 PM (PST) wherein there were 3,094 confirmed cases, 1,474 cases that tested negative while
there were over 960 cases that had pending test results.
ii. World
Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
Since first being recorded late last year in China, the COVID-19 coronavirus spread
around the globe and was declared to be a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The number of total cases of COVID-19 Coronavirus as of April 5, 2020, 05:11 GMT is 1,202,
609 cases in linear scale. In the chart, January 22, 2020 had a total of 580 cases worldwide. If
mainland China was be excluded, January 22, 2020 had the lowest number of cases which is only
9 cases and increased rapidly until the current total case on April 4,2020 of 1,119,814.
The pie chart above displayed that China which is the mainland or the origin of
where the Coronavirus disease originated had a total of 81, 669 (6.79%) cases while other
countries which had the presence of the Coronavirus had 1,120,940 (93.21%) cases.
The pie chart displayed the current number of COVID-19 cases of each country
besides mainland China. The United States of America haf 311,635 cases (27.83%) which was
the largest percentage of Coronavirus cases among the other countries and the location with only
1 case was Timor Leste.
COVID-19: ACTIVE CASES
The number of currently infected patients worldwide was 891,237 while those who were
in a mild condition were 848, 555 ( 95%) and 42,682 (5%) were the patients who were in a
serious or critical condition.
COVID-19: OUTCOME OF TOTAL CLOSED CASES (Recovery rate vs. Death rate)
The line chart above conveyed the number of total closed cases worldwide wherein the
color orange represented the death rate while the green color represented the patients who had
recovered or discharged from the Coronavirus disease. As of April 4, 2020 there was a total of
246, 640 (79.21%) patients recovered or discharged and 64, 732 (21%) of total deaths.
Moreover, according to the chart, February 2, 2020 had the highest death rate of 41.80% and
March 7, 2020 as its lowest death rate of 5.64%. While March 7,2020 had the highest recovery rate
of 94.36% and February 2,2020 for its lowest recovery rate.
The bar chart showcased the daily new cases that were recorded each day. As seen in the
bar chart, February 12 was the result of a change in diagnosis classification for which 13,332
clinically (rather than laboratory) confirmed cases were all reported as new cases on Feb. 12,
even though they were diagnosed in the preceding days and weeks. The current data of daily new
cases as of April 4, 2020 was 84, 821 worldwide. Noticeably, the daily cases of April 3 was the
highest for it surpassed 100k for there was total of 101, 566 recorded for that day. Furthermore,
the number of the first cases was 472 on January 24, 2020.
Age, Sex, Existing Conditions of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths
Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/
COVID-19 fatality rate by age wherein death rate = (number of deaths / number of cases)
= probability of dying if infected by the virus (%). This probability differed depending on the age
group. The percentages shown below do not have to add up to 100%, as they do not represent
share of deaths by age group. Rather, it represents, for a person in a given age group, the risk of
dying if infected with COVID-19. In general, the most vulnerable victims of the virus were those
who are 80+ years old with a 21.9% death rate confirmed cases followed by 70 to 79 years old
with 8.0% and 60 to 69 years old with 3.6%. Whereas only a few cases are seen among children
who had the Coronavirus disease.
COVID-19 fatality rate by Comobidity wherein death rate = (number of deaths / number
of cases) = probability of dying if infected by the virus (%). This probability differed depending
on pre-existing condition. The percentage shown above does not represent in any way the share
of deaths by pre-existing condition. Rather, it represents, for a patient with a given pre- existing
condition, the risk of dying if infected by COVID-19. Based from the percentage above, patients
with a cardiovascular disease were the most vulnerable victims of the virus with a percentage of
13.2% death rate confirmed cases since it affected the respiratory system. Second, patients with
diabetes with a percentage of 9.2%. Third, patients with Hypertension with a percentage of 8.4%.
Fourth, patients with Chronic respiratory disease with a percentage of 8.0%. Fifth, patients with
Cancer with a percentage of 7.6%. Lastly, patients with no pre-existing conditions were the least
vulnerable to the virus with a percentage of 0.9%.
The researchers also interviewed 3 adults regarding the Coronavirus with the provided
interview questions; who were Jeffrey Velasco (interviewed by Kyana Velasco), Margarita
Rebanio (interviewed by Liberty Rebanio), and Janine Francisco (interviewed by Ashley
Francisco). Based from their answers on the first question which was how do they think COVID-
19 affected the economy of the Philippines was that as a third world country, majority of the
people were financially paralyzed. This was due to the fact that the majority belonged to the
informal sector of the society who thrived on a day to day basis of living. Due to this situation,
people solely depended on the government for their sustenance and for which created a domino
effect on the socio-political side of the present administration. Moreover, economy went down
due to the business all over the Philippines and the globe were all temporarily closed due to the
community quarantine.
Whereas the economy in the globe, the Worldwide financial decline lead to recession was
expected. As financial resources of leading countries such as US, Italy, Great Britain were
depleted as they focused on medical expenses to save lives. This created a dive in the world stock
markets and had a major impact on the closing down of businesses and high unemployment rate.
The economic flow around the world was halted as more expenses were incurred and lesser
income was generated.
As regarding the livelihood of the people, crisis was present and due to the economy that went
down, families especially those who were unprivileged starved in need of food to consume
each day. No income was generated during this period. As social contact was prohibited, sources for
income was eventually stopped as businesses were forced to close and stop operations. A greater
majority had no sustenance for their basic needs. We are at this time dependent on the government
for their financial support. Some are lucky to have set aside savings to help them in times of crisis
such as this.
On the other hand, as for the community, it was not organized for there were still citizens who
did not follow the social distancing rules, who still went outside and said their complaints regarding
receiving relief goods from the government or from their barangay. In addition, it is difficult for
communities to follow the interventions for there are numerous families who had different
perceptions and will not follow the rules immediately. The community was a reflection of how
disorganized our local government units are. As there were some who stick to their integrity as
community leaders, a large percentage still prioritized their selfish motives rather than give what is
due to their constituents. This subsequently created chaos and panic amongst us for which
disengages us from having one voice for the good of our countrymen. But there was also a good side
which was the “bayanihan spirit” was depicted in either small or major acts of kindness. It was where
people “act and heal as one” thereby strengthening the solidarity as Filipinos.
As for the effect of community quarantine on students, they became less interested or
motivated to do their school works and listen to the online classes since there was a huge difference
between physically attending the classes and having online classes. The tuition fee was also not
maximized since there were some educational institutions who did not have online classes during
this time of the outbreak. This was a major impact since all their activities and educational programs
were halted. Their educational knowledge was lessened since teaching and reporting were done
online. This eventually caused mental and emotional dilemma since graduation only happens once in
a lifetime.
The three interviewees did not agree to the implementations of the national government for
numerous families were low in supply of food and drinks. There should be strict yet organized
efforts to contain the pandemic both on the national and local levels. But the Philippine government
is also doing its best in distributing relief goods but the problem is also since we are low in supply
and resources.
IV. References