RIDING HIGH A family rides past a vaccination facility at Quirino Grandstand for a picnic at Luneta in Manila on Sunday, a day before Metro Manila reverts to alert level 3 following a spike in COVID-19 cases. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
MANILA, Philippines — Eight out of 10 Filipinos are hopeful that the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is over, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted just before the postholiday surge in cases.
Done through in-person interviews among 1,440 adults from Dec. 12 to Dec. 16, the survey found that a record-high 80 percent of Filipinos were hopeful that “the worst is behind us,” up from the 38 percent hopeful in September 2021 and the previous high of 69 percent in November 2020.
Meanwhile, those who fear the “worst is yet to come” dropped from 60 percent in September to 19 percent in December, the lowest since the 31 percent in November 2020.
Those who believe the worst of the COVID-19 crisis is behind them rose in all areas between September and December, with the biggest increase in Luzon outside Metro Manila (34 percent to 81 percent).
It is followed by Metro Manila (37 percent to 82 percent), the Visayas (36 percent to 75 percent) and Mindanao (49 percent to 83 percent).
Fear that the worst of the pandemic is yet to come also fell across all areas, from 65 percent to 17 percent in Luzon outside Metro Manila, 61 percent to 18 percent in Metro Manila, 62 percent to 24 percent in the Visayas, and 49 percent to 17 percent in Mindanao.
By educational attainment, those saying “the worst is behind us” increased, with the highest among elementary graduates (83 percent), followed by junior high school graduates (81 percent), college graduates (80 percent) and nonelementary graduates (72 percent).
Worry about catching COVID-19 likewise eased to 88 percent (72 percent a great deal worried and 16 percent somewhat worried) from the 91 percent in September. Only 12 percent are a little worried or not worried at all.
Those worried that anyone in their immediate family might catch COVID-19 were highest in the Visayas at 94 percent, followed by Mindanao at 91 percent, Metro Manila at 87 percent, and Luzon outside Metro Manila at 84 percent.
The survey had a sampling margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.6 percent for national percentages, plus-or-minus 5.2 percent for Metro Manila, the Visayas, Mindanao, and Luzon outside Metro Manila.