Socioeconomic and Political Dimensions of COVID-19 Dispersion

Abstract

This study aims to provide understanding on how certain factors lead to the formation of clusters of areas of COVID-19 dispersion to guide policy decisions and government actions. It utilized an ecological study design which analyzes data at the population or group level. The units of observation are the barangays in Cebu City. These barangays are the nodes in the network and the edge considered is the presence of areas of convergence. In order to identify the nodes for this study, data mining was done to get the number of reported COVID-19 cases in Cebu City from the Cebu City Health Office as of May 23, 2020. Only thirty-nine (39) barangays with COVID-19 cases were included in the study. Results revealed that although public and private transportation is controlled during the implementation of Enhanced Community Quarantine, it is assumed that the spread started prior to implementation of strict prohibitions which led to the rise of cases later on. Even at the time of the strict community quarantine restrictions, economic activities related to basic necessities were still allowed. For instance, public markets were open with prohibitions related to schedules only. This implies that people are still mobile at certain times despite the presence of restrictions. People still converge in areas where economic activities are present.