89% of Filipinos wear masks, 70% use face shield vs COVID-19 – OCTA

PLASTIC PROTECTION Commuters with face masks and face shields ride a bus in Quezon City. —RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — Some 89 percent of adult Filipinos nationwide use face masks while 70 percent use face shields to avoid contracting COVID-19, results of a survey conducted by the OCTA Research group showed Saturday.

OCTA’s latest Tugon ng Masa survey was conducted from July 12 to 18, with a sample size of 1,200 respondents aged 18 and above.

“Most adult Filipino respondents followed the minimum health standards or protocols set by the national government to avoid contracting COVID-19,” the team of researchers said.

According to OCTA, 95 percent of the respondents in the National Capital Region (NCR), 88 percent in Balance Luzon, 85 percent in the Visayas, and 90 percent in Mindanao use face masks, for an average of 89 percent nationwide.

As for the use of face shields, the rate in NCR is at 81 percent, 74 percent in Balance Luzon, 42 percent in the Visayas, and 79 percent in Mindanao, for an average of 70 percent.

Meanwhile, 85 percent of adult respondents nationwide said they sanitize their hands either by using soap and water, or alcohol and hand sanitizers.

Only 64 percent of respondents nationwide said they practice physical distancing.

OCTA researchers, however, clarified that the survey was conducted before COVID-19 cases surged in Metro Manila and in other parts of the country.

The country on Saturday saw an all-time high of 19,441 new COVID-19 cases, which brought the caseload to 1,935,700.

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