A MAJORITY of Filipinos in the Philippines are still worried about being infected with COVID-19, according to a survey released on Thursday, July 23.
The latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that 85% of Filipinos were worried that anyone in their immediate family might get COVID-19.
Of the total percentage, 67% were “worried a great deal,” 18% were “somewhat worried,” while 8% “worried a little.”
The remaining 7% said they were “not worried” about contracting the disease.
“This hardly changed from the 87% worried (73% worried a great deal, 14% somewhat worried), 7% worried a little, and 7% not worried about catching the virus in May 2020,” the SWS said in its report.
“Compared to past SWS surveys, worry about catching the COVID-19 is greater than worries about catching previous viruses such as Ebola, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS),” it added.
The pollster noted that Metro Manila recorded the highest number of Filipinos worried about catching the virus at 92%, followed by Balance Luzon at 87%, Visayas at 85%, and Mindanao at 77%.
“Compared to May 2020, worry about catching the virus stayed at 92% in Metro Manila, while it rose slightly from 85% in Balance Luzon,” SWS said.
“However, it declined from 91% in the Visayas, and from 85% in Mindanao,” it added.
The survey also found that worry about catching COVID-19 rose among those aged 18 to 24, up from 84% to 88%.
It also revealed that college graduates worry the most at 89%, followed by junior high school graduates at 86%, elementary graduates at 80%, and non-elementary graduates at 79%.
The SWS survey, conducted from July 3 to 6 among 1,555 respondents, used mobile phone and computer-assisted interviewing. It had sampling error margins of ±2% for national percentages, ±6% for Metro Manila, ±5% for Balance Luzon, ±5% for the Visayas, and ±5% for Mindanao.
