Survey: Filipinos Follow COVID-19 Precautions, With or Without Lockdown

Filipinos continue to observe COVID-19 protocols, in "large majorities" according to an opinion poll, despite the easing of quarantine restrictions. Authorities have stressed the importance of face masks, hand washing and physical distancing as infections continue to rise.

Filipinos "always" wear a face mask (76%), wash their hands (65%) and keep a physical distance (59%) based on a Social Weather Stations telephone poll of 1,555 respondents from July 3 to 6, or a month after restrictions on movement were lessened.

During the May 4 to 10 poll, the last month of lockdown for most of the country, the numbers were little changed for those who said they "always" wear a face mask (77%), wash their hands (68%) and keep a physical distance (64%), the SWS said.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier this week appealed to the public to wear face masks outside their homes or risk arrest. Current quarantine classifications are valid until July 31 and Malacanang had said that unless infections slow in Metro Manila, the capital region could be rolled back into a lockdown.

Compliance with health protocols is high among those with higher educational attainment, the SWS said. On wearing face masks, college graduates (82 percent) said they always wear face masks, followed by junior high school graduates, elementary graduates and non-elementary graduates. None of the percetages fell below 68 percent.