SWS finds many Filipinos willing to comply with COVID-19 contact tracing efforts

FILE: FREE HELMETS. Bikers present identification documents to personnel of the Quezon City Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)

Many Filipinos expressed willingness in complying with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) contact tracing efforts as shown in the national mobile phone survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

Conducted from September 17 to 20 and released on Friday, October 30, the probability-based survey asked 1,249 Filipino respondents whether or not they will follow if health officials will establish a contact tracing system in their local areas.

The pollster presented four Covid-19 contact tracing efforts to the respondents which include undergoing self-quarantine for 14 days if they are notified that they came into contact with someone who tested positive for the virus, giving the contact tracing officials a list of people they have recently come into contact with if they test positive, volunteering for weekly testing to track the progression of the virus, and lastly, giving the contact tracing officials access to their cellphone location data if they contracted Covid-19.

The survey’s result showed that 97 percent of the respondents are willing to comply with self-quarantine, while 96 percent said they will provide details of people they have come into contact with.

The SWS also found that 87 percent of the respondents are willing to volunteer for weekly testing, while 93 percent said they will give access to their cellphone location data.

Noting that Filipinos’ willingness to follow the four contact tracing efforts ranges from 83 to 98 percent, the SWS considered this to be “extremely high in all areas.”

It was also stated in the survey that there are more Filipinos who are willing to cooperate with the country’s effort to prevent further spread of the virus than Americans. The SWS compared its survey to the one conducted by Axios/Ipsos last May 15 to 18, which found that 84 percent of Americans are likely to self-quarantine, 76 percent are likely to give a list of the people they have come in contact with, 59 percent are likely to volunteer for weekly testing, and 56 percent are likely to give access to their cellphone location data.

“This shows that, although majorities of Americans say they are willing to cooperate, their proportions are not as high as those of Filipinos,” the pollster said.

The latest SWS survey was conducted using a mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviewing. It has a sampling error margin of plus-minus three percent for national percentages, plus-minus six percent for Metro Manila, plus-minus five percent for Balance Luzon, plus-minus for six percent for Visayas, and plus-minus six percent for Mindanao.

As per the latest count of the Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday, October 31, the Philippines’ total Covid-19 cases rose to more than 380,000 after the department reported more than 1,800 new infections. There were 606 new recoveries, bringing its total number to more than 331,000, while there were 36 new deaths, making the total death tally climb to more than 7,200.