enhance community quarantine essay

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Narrative Essay On Enhanced Community-Quarantine Due To COVID-19

A narrative essay on the effects of the enhanced community-quarantine.

NARRATIVE ESSAY ON ENHANCED COMMUNITY-QUARANTINE – In this article, we are going to share perspectives on the enhanced community quarantine in the Philippines.

As the Philippines faced the coronavirus pandemic, several countermeasures were imposed to curve its spread. As such, President Duterte imposed an enhanced community quarantine on Luzon.

However, the spread of the virus brought to light some of the worst traits of the Filipino people. Instead of helping out, people began panic buying. Worse, they tried to profit off of their fellow countrymen by hoarding important supplies such as alcohol and face masks.

Furthermore, the inconsistencies and incompetence of some politicians and public servants were highlighted. Clearly, some were not prepared to handle the spread of the virus.

This caused a debate online regarding what to do amid the pandemic and the quarantine in the Philippines. Many argued that criticizing the government would do no help, however, many would disagree.

Because of the outcries of netizens online, thousands of people have been helped by the government and got aid. Moreover, several politicians have listened to the masses and provided the desperate needs of the people.

But hope still remains. The Filipino people is resilient and brave. In light of this global health crisis, and the community quarantine, the hope is that we would all learn from this.

The majority of the people would want “things to get back to normal”. However, the normal that we had before was a culture of being apologetic on behalf of politicians and normalizing hate.

After this quarantine, when the dust has settled and the world begins to rebuild from their losses, let us look back on the pandemic as a reminder that we should move forward for the better.

Like this article? READ ALSO: Huseng Sisiw – Who Is This Famous Filipino Writer?

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Enhanced Community Quarantine

Question from email: after modified gcq, what’s next.

Answer : ( June 16, 2020)

The IATF’s June 3 Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of Community Quarantine in the Philippines identifies four community quarantine regimes. These are Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), Modified ECQ (MECQ), General Community Quarantine (GCQ) and Modified GCQ (MGCQ). The most restrictive is the ECQ and the least restrictive is the MGCQ. Whether an area is to be downgraded will depend on the IATF’s recommendations and the approval of the President. The most desired is to have no quarantine restrictions in the New Normal but where health and safety measures will still be in place. Take note that there is a zoning concept. In areas even under MECQ, the local LGUs may put in place (as practiced a barangay, a street or an area) into ECQ-like restrictions upon the approval of the regional IATF. According to the Palace spokesperson on June 13, the option the President is considering for Metro Manila is to extend GCQ or reimpose MECQ. It is best to be updated for the latest CQ status in your area.

Sources: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1282698/duterte-approves-metro-manilas-shift-to-gcq-starting-june-1 ; https://www.covid19.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/20200603-omnibus-guidelines-on-the-implementation-of-community-quarantine-in-the-philippines.pdf  and https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1291295/du30-options-longer-gcq-or-back-to-stricter-quarantine

Question from Facebook: How to teach the grade1 pupils writing and reading. These needs face to face teaching. This is the concerns of grade 1 teachers. Thanks po

Answer : ( June 10, 2020)

The 2020-2021 school year opening of classes is set on Aug. 24 but the Department of Education said on June 8 that in-person classes will be postponed until a vaccine for the new coronavirus disease is developed. This means students and teachers will rely on distance learning which includes alternative methods such as online classes, self-taught modules and instruction delivered through television or radio. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1288351/deped-postpones-in-person-classes

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1287962/no-face-to-face-classes-until-covid-19-vaccine-is-available-deped

Question from Facebook: Totoo po ba ung may palibreng tablet ang q.c. government para sa mga batang wla pong mgamit na khit ano online gadget?

Yes, the Quezon City government has approved a P2.9 billion budget to provide tablets for public school students—155,921 enrolled junior high school students and 19,810 enrolled senior high school students. For students in kinder to grade school, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said they will receive modules, learning packets containing flash drives and other additional printed materials. A portion of the budget will be allocated for public school teachers.

Sources: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1287355/quezon-city-oks-p2-9-b-fund-to-equip-students-with-tablets and  https://www.facebook.com/notes/quezon-city-government/qc-local-school-board-approves-p29-b-supplemental-budget-for-new-normal-in-educa/296608421726922/

Question from Facebook: tuloy po ba ang 2020-2021 classes?

The 2020-2021 school year opening of classes is set on Aug. 24 but the Department of Education said on June 8 that in-person classes will be postponed until a vaccine for the new coronavirus disease is developed. This means students and teachers will rely on distance learning which includes alternative methods such as online classes, self-taught modules and instruction delivered through television or radio.

Sources: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1288351/deped-postpones-in-person-classes and  https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1287962/no-face-to-face-classes-until-covid-19-vaccine-is-available-deped

Question from Email: Me and my husband currently live in Pasig City and we are planning to go back to my husband’s hometown in Vigan City so I can give birth there. As of the moment, I am 4 months pregnant and work from home. I understand that we have to go on 14day quarantine when we arrive in Vigan. How is the Vigan quarantine procedure implemented? I want to know if I will still have online access so I can continue working from home.

Answer: (June 1, 2020)

Vigan City will be under modified general community quarantine starting June 1 and based on its latest guidelines, stranded individuals coming from general community quarantine (like Metro Manila) and other high-risk areas who wish to return to their hometowns shall undergo strict 14-day quarantine in the city’s designated facility. You and your husband must coordinate with the Vigan’s city health office for your arrival date and present to them your medical certificate from the Pasig’s city health office and travel authority from the Philippine National Police. The travel authority, which includes the date of travel, point of origin and destination, and name of driver and vehicles that will be used in the transport, will come from the director of the PNP directorate for operations since your travel involves two regions. You may reach the city health office of Vigan City at (077) 722-6785, 09171041803. 09478923128 or email them at [email protected] .

Sources: https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1043381 ; https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1104465 ; https://www.facebook.com/vigancho/?ref=page_internal

Question from Email: My wife and two children are caught in lockdown in batangas. My wife is a public school teacher here in NCR. They are required to report starting first week of june. Can they go back here by first week of june?

Answer: (May 20, 2020)

Your wife must follow the guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases for stranded persons seeking to go home. They need to get a travel authority or certification from the Director of the PNP Directorate for Operations. To do this, individuals must first secure from the local government health office where they are stranded a medical certificate clearing them of the coronavirus. Local officials of the place where she wants to go back to must also provide a certification that they are accepting their return. Both these documents are needed by the concerned police officers to issue a travel authority, which includes the date of travel, point of origin and destination, and name of driver and vehicles that will be used in the transport. According to Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, if the areas involved is within a province, the certification could be issued by the provincial commander. If the areas involve two provinces within a region, the certification could be secured from the police regional director and if the areas involve two regions, the certification will come from the Director of the PNP Directorate for Operations. To facilitate getting her travel authority, your wife may opt to get in touch with the nearest barangay, mayor or governor for assistance. Last March, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano has tasked city mayors and other LGU heads in DILG memorandum circular no. 2020-062 to provide transportation to stranded persons and to those needing to go to hospitals or clinics and that “the LGU may coordinate with other LGUs for the transport of said persons.” For further information, you may contact the (JTF) COVID-19 Shield at 0917-538-2495 (Globe), 0998-849-0013 (SMART) and (02)87253176 (Landline).

Sources: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1273099/covid-19-task-force-warns-against-unnecessary-travel-if-ecq-is-lifted ; https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1102543 and https://www.dilg.gov.ph/PDF_File/issuances/memo_circulars/dilg-memocircular-2020322_28333f20aa.pdf

Question from Email: I am a dentist in Pangasinan that is presently under GCQ and I’m planning to travel to Metro Manila under MECQ with my driver. I need to pick-up and purchase equipment and materials for my clinics. Do we need to have special passes?

Answer: (May 18, 2020)

Workers in industries permitted to operate in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) would be allowed to cross borders, or travel from a GCQ area to a modified ECQ area, according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque. Under GCQ, dental clinics are among those classified as essential services whose operations may resume with a skeleton workforce. Just be ready with an employment certificate, a company ID and IDs that show your place of residence. Social distancing in private vehicles (one seat apart) must also be observed. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1275358/ban-on-public-transport-stays-in-mecq-areas

Source: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2020/05may/20200515-omnibus-guidelines-on-the-implementation-of-community-quarantine-in-the-philippines.pdf

Question from Facebook: How did DepEd come up with an August class opening? Is COVID solved by that time?

Answer: (May 8, 2020)

The Department of Education has set the opening of classes for next school year on August 24 amid the continued spread of COVID-19. Education Secretary Leonor Briones said the school opening date was selected based on consultations with various stakeholders and on a survey involving 700,000 respondents. Depending on the situation, Briones said classes may be done through online learning methods and not all students have to physically report to schools.

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1269815/its-back-to-school-physically-or-virtually-on-august-24-deped

Question from Email: 1) What is the correct standard of physical distancing according to DOH and IATF–6ft or 3ft apart? 2) Are clothes and shoes carriers of the covid19 virus? Should companies require employees to change clothes and/or shoes BEFORE ENTERING offices? 3) Are covid19 tests free of charge — meaning Philhealth will completely shoulder the relevant fees?

Answer: (May 4, 2020)

1. According to the guidelines of the World Health Organization, Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, everyone must maintain at least 1 meter (or 3 ft) distance between each other at all times, especially in public places. You can breathe in the droplets that may contain the virus from the nose or mouth of someone who coughs, sneezes or speaks, so it is important to maintain a safe distance from everyone else. Sources: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2020/04apr/2020030-EO-112-RRD.pdf https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

2. A recent study in Wuhan, China, found that floor swab samples from a hospital tested positive because of gravity and air flow that caused virus droplets to fall to the ground. The study also said that half of the samples from the soles of the shoes of some medical staff tested positive and might function as carriers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited studies that showed that COVID-19 may remain for hours to days on surfaces, including clothing, which could hold respiratory droplets. Source: https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/297729/to-do-list-in-entering-your-home-after-running-an-errand-during-this-covid-19-pandemic

3. Yes. Filipinos eligible for testing, even those who are not enrolled in PhilHealth, shall be covered by the benefit package for COVID-19 testing, based on PhilHealth Circular No. 2020-0010. The amount of the package, which ranges from P2,710 to P8,150, depends on how the test kits were procured by the accredited laboratories. Sources: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1239944/philhealth-shouldering-covid-19-testing-costs https://www.philhealth.gov.ph/news/2020/will_pay.php https://www.philhealth.gov.ph/news/2020/cont_coverage.php

Question from Email: May I know the guidelines in condominiums with occupants who tested positive for COVID-19?

Answer: (April 30, 2020)

The new guidelines issued by the government last April 15, 2020 following the Department of Health’s new classification of Covid-19 cases did not mention members of the Inter-agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infection Diseases as exempted from quarantine protocols. But if you are a person under monitoring (PUM) which the Department of Health has now dropped in its new classification of Covid cases, joint administrative order no. 2020-0001 now refers to PUMs as  “contacts” that can be subjected to quarantine protocols this time either in home quarantine or Ligtas covid-19 centers to be put up by LGUs. But this new guidelines only cover contacts “with mild symptoms and who are not vulnerable persons in households and communities.” Still, the Department of Health told the Inquirer that “anyone who has close contact (with a Covid-19 positive person) should quarantine himself, watch out for symptoms.” If any symptoms develop, he should go to the nearest hospital. Also, he should report to his barangay emergency response team to “enable the community to take specific actions on how to prevent transmission and also help the government in contact tracing” people who may have been exposed.

Source: https://www.doh.gov.ph/sites/default/files/health-update/jao2020-0001_0.pdf

Question from Facebook: Kailan matatapos ang lockdown sa Visayas? Kailan magbabalik ang biyahe ng RORO ports?

Answer: (April 27, 2020)

Pinalawig ang enhanced community quarantine hanggang May 15 sa mga high-risk areas, na kinabibilangan ng lalawigan ng Antique, Iloilo at Cebu. Gayunman, ang sinasabing extension sa nasabing mga probinsiya ay maaari pa ring mabago base sa gagawing review ngayong Abril 30.

Maliban sa tatlong lalawigang natukoy, ang kabuuang Visayas ay isasailalim sa general community quarantine kung saan ang ibang sector ay maari nang magbukas. Bubuksan na rin ang mga airports at seaports sa ECQ at GCQ areas.

Ayon sa Maritime Industry Authority (MIA), ang mga cargo at passenger shipping operations, kabilang na ang Ro-Ro (Roll on-Roll off) ships, ay patuloy ang operasyon habang ipinatutupad ang ECQ. Bagamat ang ibang operasyon ay apektado, ang Ro-Pax (Roll on-Roll off passenger) ships ay bumiyahe lang para maghatid ng mga cargo.

Question from Email: Are financing companies considered “essential service” under Covid19 ECQ?

Answer: (April 16, 2020)

Among those listed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as essential BSP-supervised institutions (BSFIs) were banks, non-bank savings and loan associations, money transfer/remittance companies, electronic money issuers, payment system operators and pawn shops. These institutions were instructed to remain operating with skeleton forces, with stricter social distancing measures and were given BSFI-issued IDs to use during the implementation of the ECQ.

Source: https://www.bsp.gov.ph/printpage.asp?ref=https://www.bsp.gov.ph/publications/media.asp?id=5328

Question from Email: How is mandatory home quarantine being administered? how is this monitored? My father-in-law is supposed to return from Dubai going to Bicol. But since Luzon is still on ECQ, he has no choice but to drop by here in Manila and stay with us. Will he be required for quarantine? If yes, how long and who’s going to monitor and give clearance once completed?

Answer: (April 15, 2020)

The Bureau of Quarantine stationed at the airport will decide whether returning Filipinos must undergo a mandatory quarantine in a facility or if they should undergo home quarantine instead. If ordered to undergo home quarantine, they must not leave their room and home for 14 days. After this, they may get their certificate of quarantine completion and clearance from the nearest barangay or barangay health center where they are staying.

Source: https://www.doh.gov.ph/sites/default/files/health-update/DM-Interim%20Guidelines%20for%20Home%20Quarantine.pdf

Question from Email: I just want some clarification about the latest home quarantine requirements for OFW. Ang alam ko po kasi based sa DOH memo ay 14 days ang home quarantine ng isang cruise ship crew member. Nabago na po ba ito? May nagsabi po kasi very recently na ayon daw kay Sec. Nograles ng IATF ay pwedeng 1 week lang ang home quarantine.

The guidelines on the repatriation of Filipino workers in cruise ships have not been changed. OFWs are still mandated to undergo a 14-day quarantine, based on the IATF Resolution No. 18 issued on April 1. But the question of where they will be isolated depends on the Bureau of Quarantine staff upon the OFW’s entry at the airport. Local government units are advised to ensure the unhampered transit of OFWs who are required to undergo home quarantine.

Sources: https://globalnation.inquirer.net/186504/diplomat-dies-of-covid-19-guidelines-underway-for-returning-ofws and https://www.covid19.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/IATF-Reso-No-18.pdf

Question from Email: What will happen if you are caught outside without a quarantine pass and you are still underage? For example, your age is still 14. What will they do to you?

Answer: (April 8, 2020)

Minors are urged to stay home during the enhanced community quarantine, especially since most barangays and local government units do not authorize minors to be holders of quarantine passes. Philippine National Police Chief Archie Gamboa had said that minors caught violating quarantine rules would be sent back to their parents or guardian. If there are no parents or guardians to pick them up, they will be turned over to the local social welfare officer. But there have also been reports of arrests of minors in certain cities. In Navotas, 259 minors have been arrested from March 20 to April 8. The Commission on Human Rights spokesperson Atty. Jacqueline de Guia had said that their office received complaints of arrests of minors, homeless and seniors.

Sources:  https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1245735/chr-covid-story and https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1246830/be-mindful-of-your-rights-vigilant-vs-possible-abuses-chr-tells-public-amid-luzon-wide-quarantine

Question from Email: My husband is arriving in Manila from US with stopover in korea on friday 1030 pm or nightime. His driver will pick him up and bring him to quezon city. As there is curfew, will he be exempted from this rule and just present arrival travel docs to any chechkpoint?

Answer: (April 1, 2020)

Yes, your husband will be allowed to travel from NAIA to Quezon City. Your husband and his driver must bring their identification cards and proof of travel which they will present at checkpoints. Returning Filipinos from the United States shall comply with a mandatory home quarantine.

Sources: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1241790/palace-releases-temporary-guidelines-on-metro-manila-community-quarantine and https://pcoo.gov.ph/press-briefing/laging-handa-public-briefing-hosted-by-pcoo-secretary-martin-andanar-undersecretary-rocky-ignacio-with-cabinet-secretary-karlo-alexei-nograles-department-of-agriculture-secretary-william-dar-depa/

Question from Viber: After the community quarantine is lifted by April 15, will masses and confession resume immediately?

Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines permanent community on public affairs, said on Wednesday that the public celebration of Masses in churches will most likely resume once the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine ends.

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1252266/public-celebration-of-masses-to-resume-after-luzon-quarantine-ends-cbcp/

Questions from Email: Would like to ask for guidelines for the burial of my mother. She died yesterday due to NON-covid related disease. Are we allowed to hold a wake? If yes, what are the guidelines that need to be observed?

Good morning if there is someone who died in pasay, can family members from quezon city see the body noting that the cause of death is not covid19 related if yes, what are the protocols what are the requirements needed to for travel.

Yes, you may visit the body. The national government had said that funeral parlors are among the establishments allowed to open as these offer “critical services.” But visitors in wakes are only limited to the immediate family of the deceased as well as the priests and ministers, according to Philippine National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac. But visitors must still observe social distancing, proper hand hygiene and cough etiquette at all times. You may travel via a private vehicle, but must strictly observe social distancing (or one seat apart).

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1246454/pnp-wakes-in-luzon-limited-to-immediate-kin-during-quarantine-period

Question from Facebook: I am a business owner of a convenience store. What are the requirements for a quarantine pass?

A quarantine pass is used only within the barangay by ther person designated to go outside the home to buy food and necessities under the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine. A convenience store owner does not need a quarantine pass. But for him to go out to his home he has to carry his ID of employment in case he has to go through checkpoints. Those working in convenience stores are exempted from the lockdown.

Sources: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1249392/ncrpo-barangay-quarantine-pass-not-a-national-policy-not-honored-at-checkpoints/ and https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1244515/list-persons-authorized-to-go-out-during-luzon-lockdown/

Question from Email: What are the guidelines for funeral and burial during this ECQ in provinces like Bulacan? If the deceased is not a Covid patient.

Philippine National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said last week that wakes are among the banned public gatherings during the month-long Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine aimed to stop the spread of Covid-19. Banac said only the immediate family of the deceased as well as priest and other ministers will be allowed in wakes in Luzon. The Department of Health has not issued any specific guidelines for the burial of persons who died of other causes than those due to Covid-19. But funeral parlors are among the establishments offering critical services during the Luzon lockdown so it is safe to assume the burial procedure will be the same.

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1246454/pnp-wakes-in-luzon-limited-to-immediate-kin-during-quarantine-period/

Question from Email: Kung magcacarpool ako ng officemates, ilan ang pwedeng sakay sa kotse?

While the government wants companies doing essential work to have transport arrangements for their employees, the government has insisted the implementation of skeleton work force and strict social distancing in every aspect of its operations so it follows that there should be less people inside a vehicle.

Source: https://pcoo.gov.ph/press-briefing/press-conference-of-cabinet-secretary-karlo-nograles-pcoo-secretary-martin-andanar-doh-secretary-francisco-duque-iii-doj-secretary-menardo-guevarra-dilg-secretary-eduardo-ano/

Question from Facebook: Matutuloy po ba ang 2 weeks total lockdown and kailan po magsastart?

Answer: (March 31, 2020)

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles last week denied as “idle and wild talk” rumors of a total lockdown in Luzon, Nograles maintained that groceries, drugstores and wet markets will remain open as they are now under the current Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1249742/no-lockdown-of-supermarkets-drugstores-palace-quells-wild-talk/

Question from Viber: Is BGC part of the Taguig lockdown declared by Mayor Lino? There are still a lot of people roaming around here.

Since the Court of Appeals ruled in 2016 that Bonifacio Global City (BGC) belongs to Taguig City in its land dispute with Makati City, it follows that the lockdown ordered by Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano midnight of March 17 in his city, also includes BGC.

Sources: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/943180/ca-taguig-owns-bgc-not-makati/   and https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1243629/taguig-city-goes-on-lockdown-due-to-covid-19/

Question from Viber: Is running alone around the neighborhood/ barangay/ subdivision not allowed? I was stopped by our barangay volunteers while jogging by myself one morning.

Answer: (March 30, 2020)

Yes, running or jogging in your barangay is prohibited. Under the enhanced community quarantine “strict home quarantine’ is being implemented in all households. Only one person per household will be allowed to leave to purchase necessities during lockdown.

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1243217/duterte-on-luzon-wide-enhanced-community-quarantine-this-is-not-martial-law-covid19phsafeathome-total-lockdown-covid19-mmlockdown

Question from Email: I have a friend who has a mother, currently in Zamboanga, who has cancer. Will she be allowed to travel to Manila for treatment? Where can she get a permit so her mom can travel?

Your friend’s mother who has cancer may be exempted from the Luzon-wide lockdown and allowed to get inside Manila for humanitarian reasons. But there are no available commercial domestic flights bound for Manila from Zamboanga for the duration of the enhanced community quarantine until April 13. Commercial airlines that fly the Zamboanga-Manila routes are Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air, both of which have suspended all its domestic and international flights and are set to resume operations on April 15. The other option is to seek medical treatment in Zamboanga or nearby accessible provinces for the meantime.

Question from Viber: What is the DOTR social distancing guideline for travels using private cars?

Social distancing in private cars (that is one seat apart) must be observed by having only a limited number of passengers inside the vehicles. Private cars can be used when one has to travel to buy basic necessities and transport passengers who have scheduled departing or arriving flights. Use of private vehicles is allowed to buy basic necessities provided only one person is allowed to leave home. Filipinos may also use a private vehicle to transport or fetch their relatives at the airport but they should show proof of travel or flight itinerary and only one companion is allowed per passenger.

Sources: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1243868/dotr-on-private-vehicles-in-airports#ixzz6I8pn9SK7 ; https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1243775/luzon-community-quarantine-its-not-just-wider-in-coverage#ixzz6I8pI8a6e and https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1242176/dotr-to-implement-one-seat-apart-social-distancing-in-all-public-transpo#ixzz6I9GXnaH5

Question from Viber: What is the difference between total lockdown and enhanced community quarantine?

Under an “enhanced community quarantine,” also described as partial lockdown by government officials, business establishments that provide basic necessities such as food, water, medicine and medical supplies; and those that provide services such as banks, hotels and food deliveries, are allowed to operate. The delivery of agricultural products and the flow of cargoes (food and nonfood) shall remain unhampered and must not be flagged down at checkpoints during the enhanced community quarantine, which has been imposed in the whole of Luzon until April 13.

In a total lockdown, all establishments, including supermarkets, convenience stores, wet markets, drug stores, banks and restaurants would be closed. Delivery of food supply and agricultural products would also be prohibited.

Source: https://pcoo.gov.ph/OPS-content/on-the-rumor-of-a-total-lockdown-in-the-entire-country-in-the-next-two-weeks/

Question from Email: Do you know how Paranaque have set up to assist for PWD? For basic services like ID renewal during this time of COVID, and for special services like doing our groceries for us.

Answer: (March 28, 2020)

According to the Paranaque’s CSWD office, their office is open to you to renew your ID and they are giving food packs to all barangays in the city. For questions you may call the CSWD hotline at 88293324.

Question from Viber: There are barangays, such as ours here in Cubao (Brgy E. Rodriguez Sr), that are imposing windows of time for going out for important errands. The schedule is 5-8am, 10am-2pm, and 5-8pm. Is this official? It seems to go against the concept of social distancing because it squeezes everyone to be at the marketplace and supermarkets at particular times only.

Answer: (March 27 2020)

Yes, it is official because the schedule of curfew with window hours is imposed by local government units. However, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año already advised local government units last March 25 to lift window hours because cramming market runs into a few hours would only gather more crowds where social distancing would not be observed.

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1248332/lift-window-hours-for-market-grocery-runs-lgus-told

Question from Email: Is this article true? It was published by Inq.net. “Home rental fees frozen while Luzon quarantine is in effect”.

Yes, it is true. Under Republic Act No. 11469, or more known as “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,” a 30-day moratorium shall be imposed on home rental fees within the duration of the enhanced community quarantine. No further charges, interests, penalties and fees shall also be incurred following the 30-day grace period.

Sources: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1248088/rental-fees-frozen-while-quarantine-in-place-poe and https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2020/03mar/20200324-RA-11469-RRD.pdf

Question from Email: I am due to vacate my current condominium unit next April here in Pasig as my contract expires and will move back to Muntinlupa (my domicile). Will I be allowed to move?

Answer: (March 26, 2020)

You will not be allowed to travel to Muntinlupa from Pasig because under the guidelines of the Enhanced Community Quarantine for Luzon, which will last until April 14, only authorized individuals from exempted industries and medical reasons are allowed to travel as long as they show proof of their business outside. No ‘non-essential’ travel is allowed because the intention of the quarantine is to restrict the movement of people and keep them in their homes.

Sources: https://pnp.gov.ph/images/Module/3192020.pdf and https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2020/03mar/20200316-MEMORANDUM-FROM-ES-RRD.pdf

Question from Disqus: How likely is it that the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon will be extended?

During the March 25,2020 Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases briefing in the Palace, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said while they have to make an assessment if the government can lift the lockdown on April 12, he was “confident that we can, but of course, it doesn’t mean that’s the end of the spread (of Covid-19).”

Source: https://pcoo.gov.ph/transcripts

Question from Viber: Are seniors prohibited to go to supermarkets?

Yes, but a senior citizen may be exempted if she/he lives alone. Under the enhanced community quarantine for Luzon, senior citizens cannot leave their houses to go to supermarkets. Quarantine passes issued by the local governments do not allow senior citizens to go out. However, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said senior citizens who live alone should be exempted. He said they should be given a quarantine pass to buy their basic needs. Senior citizens and those with underlying health conditions are at high risk of the coronavirus disease so they should take extra care when going to public places.

Sources: https://pcoo.gov.ph/press-briefing/inter-agency-task-force-for-the-management-of-emerging-infectious-diseases-virtual-presser-with-cabinet-secretary-karlo-alexei-nograles-department-of-agriculture-secretary-william-dar-department-of/ and https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1248697/senior-citizens-living-alone-should-also-get-quarantine-pass-says-ano

Question from Viber: I’m a single mom with one kid. According to the ECQ regulations, only 1 per household can go out to buy necessities. My son is a special child and cannot be left alone. Can this be exempted?

Yes, your case can be exempted. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo had said that among those exempted from the enhanced community quarantine are those leaving their homes for medical and humanitarian reasons. You may ask a barangay officer to exempt you or give you an additional quarantine pass on medical and humanitarian grounds.

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1243036/luzon-island-now-under-enhanced-community-quarantine-palace

Question from Email: I will pick up a relative from the airport. Do luggage and the people arriving undergo some sort of disinfection bago lumabas ng airport?

Answer: (March 25, 2020)

There is no mention in the Manila International Airport Authority’s memorandum circular dated March 15, 2020 on its protocol in response to Covid-19 that arriving passengers and their luggages will undergo disinfection. Airport terminals do conduct regular disinfection in the premises and facilities there, particularly surfaces exposed to the public. Disinfection is also being done in airport shuttles at every loop as well as in airport transportation services there.

Source: https://www.miaa.gov.ph/miaa/index.php?option=3514;protocol-in-response-to-the-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-social-distancing-implementation&catid=31;miaa-announcements&Itemid=41

Question from Facebook: Mayroon bang hotel intended to accommodate the COVID-19 patients?

So far, no hotels are being considered by the government to accommodate Covid-19 patients. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said government has designated three government hospitals as Covid-19 referral hospitals as some hospitals have already reached full capacity for the care of Covid-19 patients.

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1247913/5-metro-hospitals-reach-full-capacity-for-covid-19-cases/

Question from Email: Ask ko lang po kung ano ang regulasyon kapag nagpapasok ng empleyado ang isang private manufacturing company? Paano po kung ALMOST full operation po sila?

According to the Inter-agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases, among those exempted from the Luzon enhanced community quarantine are employees from manufacturing and processing plants of basic food products and medicines but respective managements are required to adapt a strict skeleton work force to support operations as well as observe strict distancing measures. So a manufacturing company should not operate fully during the quarantine period.

Question from Facebook: Are veterinarians considered health workers? Are pet clinics and hospitals allowed to be open?

Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in a Palace briefing on March 19, 2020 that veterinarians are exempted from the Luzon enhanced community quarantine. But Dar only said this applies to “essential farm personnel that works at the production area, including veterinarians..” Dar did not say vets running pet clinics or pet hospitals are exempted from the quarantine. Last March 17, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases has not yet taken up the issue on whether vets from animal hospitals will be exempted from the quarantine.

Source: https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1097096

Question from Viber: My wife and I are senior citizens, 76 and 63 years old respectively. It’s just the two of us in a condo. How can we buy food in the grocery store since only one is given a quarantine pass? It is difficult for us to go out if we are not together.

Among the exemptions mentioned when the community quarantine was imposed in the entire Luzon on March 16 is that quarantine passes are given to frontline health workers, authorized government officials, for medical reasons and for humanitarian reasons. You may try to ask for an additional quarantine pass citing humanitarian reasons.

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1243036/luzon-island-now-under-enhanced-community-quarantine-palace#ixzz6HVFFr4Rl

Question from Email: Ang mga pet supplies shop po ba ay pinahihintulutang magbukas? Ang tinda po namin ay mainly petfood and medicines. Hindi po kase kasama sa rasyon if ever ang mga hayop.

Answer: (March 24, 2020)

During the press briefing of the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on March 17, Sec. Nograles said they didn’t discuss if pet food suppliers and stores are mandated to stay in operation. In the IATF Resolution No. 14 released on March 22, the list of exceptions to the quarantine does not mention pet shops who sell food and medicine for animals.

Sources: IATF Resolution No. 14 and https://pcoo.gov.ph/press-briefing/press-briefing-of-the-inter-agency-task-force-for-the-management-of-emerging-infectious-diseases-iatf-eid-with-cabinet-secretary-karlo-alexei-nograles-department-of-labor-and-employment-secretary-s/

Question from Disqus: Can somebody else from the same household use the quarantine pass issued to another household member? So we can take turns in going outside to buy food and necessities.

Quarantine passes are issued by local government units and barangays, so rules on the quarantine pass may vary depending on the local government. In Manila, only one person is authorized per family, whose name will be submitted to the barangay. Only the name submitted is allowed to use the pass. However, in Santa Rosa, Laguna, any one member of the household can go out with the quarantine pass.

Sources: https://web.facebook.com/OfficialMBB2019/photos/a.404330023525712/549926312299415/?type=3&theater and https://web.facebook.com/citygovernmentofsantarosa/photos/a.184241094927564/3215136135171363/?type=3&theater

Question from Email: Is there a quarantine pass required in QC?

Following the order to place Luzon under lockdown until April 13, local government units have started issuing quarantine passes to each household in their jurisdiction, as part of stringent measures in implementing enhanced community quarantine. A quarantine pass, which should be free of charge, designates a household member as the representative who can go out to buy basic necessities. The bearer of the pass will be the only one allowed to go out. Some barangays in Quezon City have already issued quarantine passes. Call or text your barangay officials to check if they have given out quarantine passes.

Question from Viber: What are the regulations in Parañaque City about the quarantine?

The Parañaque City government has placed on March 23 the entire city under a 24-hour curfew. Each household was reportedly given a quarantine pass, which will be used by one member of the household to buy food and other basic necessities. In Mayor Edwin Olivarez’s Facebook post, he said that violators of the directive will be apprehended. There were 2,088 residents apprehended for allegedly violating the enhanced community quarantine, as of March 21.

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1246865/paranaque-city-placed-under-24-hour-curfew-due-to-covid-19

Question from Email: I am working in government. Are employees in government agencies considered “frontliners” by IATF?

Answer : (March 23, 2020)

In the earlier guidelines, all government workers are enjoined to stay at home or work from home unless they are part of essential workers or skeleton force. In the latest guidelines by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) last March 22, among those exempted from the lockdown and travel restrictions (apart from health workers) are members of Congress and their chiefs of staff; department secretaries, undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, and bureau directors of the different government agencies under the executive branch; Ombudsman and deputy Ombudsmen; justices of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals and the Sandiganbayan, and their skeleton-workforce; judges of regional, metropolitan, and municipal circuit trial courts and prosecutors, and their skeleton-workforce; local chief executives; and close-in staff necessary. Please check with your head of office or your supervisor if your agency is considered an essential frontliner and if you are part of the skeleton force.

Question from FB Live: Bakit po most of the doctors here in Bulacan cancelled their schedule? And according to one of the nurses, they cannot force them to work.

Answer:  (March 19, 2020)

Are the doctors working on a hospital or are private practitioner? A doctor working in a hospital may be subject to the hospital’s rules regarding leaves of absence. A private practitioner has more freedom to schedule his days and hours of service. Doctors and nurses are among the essential frontliners against the spread and cure of COVID-19. We appeal for their service at this time.

LTO: OR/CRs, RFIDs, license plates must be released within 5 days

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Reflections in a Time of Quarantine

• Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
• Ethics Resources
• Ethics Spotlight

Quarantine allows each of us time to self-reflect and try to be the person we want to be.

A woman sitting on a rock overlooking a still lake reflecting nearby mountain range

Photo credit: Pixabay

Oscar Bulaong is a professor of philosophy at the Ateneo de Manila University and a former Visiting Scholar with the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Views are his own.

In the midst of the current quarantine, we look back and see how our lives have been upturned by the COVID-19 virus. We discuss and react, in a range of emotions, to how different people are responding to this crisis in different ways: from righteous indignation at the incompetence of some public officials to admiration for the heroic front-liners. This is an extraordinary time, which coincidentally occurs during Lent—a time of fasting, abstinence, and penitence. The following three reflection points are offered to those of us at home, whose main responsibility seems to be only to prevent the spread of the virus by staying home, and yet are seeking some ways to comport ourselves ethically in the coming weeks. How can we spend this time? 

1. Time to Deepen Self Knowledge —Almost all sources of wisdom around the world and across generations promote self-knowledge. Ancient greek philosophers invoked, know thyself. Buddha demonstrated the connection between meditation and enlightenment. Jesus promised mercy when we admit to a transgression against holiness. In different ways, they teach us that self-knowledge is the groundwork on which we can build any kind of spirituality. 

But self-knowledge is a vague thing. How can we recognize, even perhaps, assess it?   One valuable piece of counsel I received as a young person was to observe myself at a time of crisis. A crisis, after all, exposes character traits—both good and bad—that are often hidden by how we typically project ourselves to others during times of non-crisis. 

In observing myself in a crisis, it may be useful to ask: What did I do, what did I say? How did others react to me, what did they say? What triggered me, how did I feel in confronting the problem? Did I act in a unitive or divisive manner? It often helps to write the answers down, at once to objectify the observations, as well as to reveal to ourselves the patterns of our own behavior. 

Yes, of course there is time to call out others, to assess their competence in the face of crisis. But there is value in devoting an equal amount of time to look inward and deepen self-knowledge. 

2. Time to Practice Measured Detachment —Wise people also counsel us to nurture spiritual detachment. Of course this does not mean apathy. Instead it comprises, on the one hand, the admonition to not be slaves of worldly desires; and on the other, the appeal to sharpen our focus on our purpose and mission. 

Detachment might begin by listing down our “favorite” deadly sins and committing to stop nurturing them. Is it greed —in my last trip to the supermarket, did I purchase goods to the extent that others were deprived? Is it sloth — which deliverable that will create value for my organization have I been postponing for pointless activities? Is it pride —when was the last time I was rude to someone because they did not recognize my status? Is it gluttony —which food or substance do I plan the rest of my day around, to ensure maximal ingestion of it? Is it lust — who was the last person I looked at as an object of my pleasure?

I admit that these are some of the questions that I struggle with, in a recognition of my worldly desires. But the primary purpose of this recognition is not only to hold back from them and to put an end to the corresponding bad habits that diminish my person. The goal of spiritual detachment is to uncover the gaps in my life and to realize that those gaps are meant to be filled with my deepest yearning. To practice detachment is to clear a space to rediscover the proverbial “true north” of my life. Is it holiness and salvation? To contribute to a better world? Is it the welfare of those whose lives I affect? It also helps to write down the answers and describe that which our soul most desires. 

Whatever that may be, it is often the unspoken mission against which we will measure the entirety of our lives. And there are two wonderful results that a mission accomplishes in a life, especially when it becomes declared: (1) it organizes attitudes, beliefs, words, actions, and habits—even a career—around itself in a systematic way, and (2) it crowds out and replaces bad habits. Thus mission inspires, indeed breathes life into, our existence. 

Purpose orders our life. What a wonderful thing, isn’t it? Spiritual detachment entails that my main task is not merely to struggle against my worldly appetites, but to nourish my deepest spiritual desire, which thereby makes those self-diminishing appetites lose power over me. And this ordering is made possible by the measured detachment of spirituality.

3. Time to Reaffirm Ethical Commitments —What the two reflections above bring about is that we become better people. In the humble effort to deepen self-knowledge and nourish spiritual detachment, becoming a better person is no longer a vague motherhood statement. For self-knowledge and detachment (or the lack of them) create character traits—whether good or bad—that have real impact on our families and communities during a crisis. 

More than simply providing a standard for judging right from wrong, which in our black-and-white society today might cause more harm than good, ethics exposes the underlying process that creates our words and actions. In this case, the process is more important than the results. 

How then can we spend this time? This extraordinary situation offers to us an extraordinary occasion to stop and reflect, as well as to recommit to our deepest values, which ordinarily we may not be able to do. Doing so reveals the ethical way to help those in need, not only because it is fashionable or high-minded, but always because of a more and more focused mission that orients our words and action towards genuine impact. 

Donation is of course an outstanding way to help in relief efforts, especially for daily wage earners and front-liners. But donation is just one way to be ethical in a time of quarantine. For each day is a unique instance for enacting my mission. We are seeing inspiring stories of people who customize their responses, not limited by their constraints but inspired by a genuine desire to alleviate the suffering that surrounds them: Families that are repacking plastic bags of food to drop off in front of the village tricycle stop. Colleagues who put up a donation drive to buy materials to make PPEs for hospitals. In the news, there was a student who mixed a disinfectant solution and sprayed some streets around his community. Therefore, in this extraordinary time, we ought to respond to the need of others in our own special ways, which we figure out in the process of a deepening self-knowledge and an inspired mission. 

Maybe this is what spirituality concretely looks like—a person of focused action whose deep self-knowledge and clear mission make the world around her a better place to live in.

The health effects of quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic

Affiliations.

• 1 Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Health, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran.
• 2 Health Sciences Research Center, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran.
• 3 Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Health, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
• PMID: 33164969
• DOI: 10.3233/WOR-203306

Background: Quarantine is considered as an effective solution in the early stages of an epidemic. In the case of the coronavirus epidemic, quarantine was also recommended and implemented as a significant guideline to prevent the disease. However, despite the benefits of quarantine, there are also complications and problems.

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the health effects of quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This study was conducted as a literature review through searching the databases Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct for papers published before July 2020. The research was conducted based on the keywords "Coronavirus," "COVID-19," and "quarantine." The references of the papers were also reviewed to find the ones not found in the databases. The guidelines published by reputable organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were used in this study.

Results: Although quarantine is applied as an important and primary solution in the outbreak of epidemics, in cases of pandemics, it may not be free of negative effects on individuals and public health. However, because of the need to reopen and restart social and economic activities, some changes should be made in lifestyles and work activities. Using cyberspace and telework can be helpful. As the findings showed, COVID-19 bubbles can be used to restore social communications.

Conclusion: Using masks, avoiding unnecessary gatherings, complying with personal and social hygiene, and respecting social distancing can be valuable solutions that, if implemented properly, can decrease the rate of the disease significantly. It is also emphasized that quarantine is still necessary and important as the best solution for sick people and individuals who are suspected carriers of the disease.

Keywords: COVID-19; Personal protection equipment; health effects; pandemic; quarantine; social distancing.

Publication types

• Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology
• Coronavirus Infections / prevention & control*
• Mental Health
• Pandemics / prevention & control*
• Personal Protective Equipment*
• Physical Distancing*
• Public Health
• Quarantine / psychology*

• Open access
• Published: 12 December 2023

Examining the role of community resilience and social capital on mental health in public health emergency and disaster response: a scoping review

• C. E. Hall 1 , 2 ,
• H. Wehling 1 ,
• J. Stansfield 3 ,
• J. South 3 ,
• S. K. Brooks 2 ,
• N. Greenberg 2 , 4 ,
• R. Amlôt 1 &
• D. Weston 1  

BMC Public Health volume  23 , Article number:  2482 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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The ability of the public to remain psychologically resilient in the face of public health emergencies and disasters (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) is a key factor in the effectiveness of a national response to such events. Community resilience and social capital are often perceived as beneficial and ensuring that a community is socially and psychologically resilient may aid emergency response and recovery. This review presents a synthesis of literature which answers the following research questions: How are community resilience and social capital quantified in research?; What is the impact of community resilience on mental wellbeing?; What is the impact of infectious disease outbreaks, disasters and emergencies on community resilience and social capital?; and, What types of interventions enhance community resilience and social capital?

A scoping review procedure was followed. Searches were run across Medline, PsycInfo, and EMBASE, with search terms covering both community resilience and social capital, public health emergencies, and mental health. 26 papers met the inclusion criteria.

The majority of retained papers originated in the USA, used a survey methodology to collect data, and involved a natural disaster. There was no common method for measuring community resilience or social capital. The association between community resilience and social capital with mental health was regarded as positive in most cases. However, we found that community resilience, and social capital, were initially negatively impacted by public health emergencies and enhanced by social group activities.

Several key recommendations are proposed based on the outcomes from the review, which include: the need for a standardised and validated approach to measuring both community resilience and social capital; that there should be enhanced effort to improve preparedness to public health emergencies in communities by gauging current levels of community resilience and social capital; that community resilience and social capital should be bolstered if areas are at risk of disasters or public health emergencies; the need to ensure that suitable short-term support is provided to communities with high resilience in the immediate aftermath of a public health emergency or disaster; the importance of conducting robust evaluation of community resilience initiatives deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Peer Review reports

For the general population, public health emergencies and disasters (e.g., natural disasters; infectious disease outbreaks; Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear incidents) can give rise to a plethora of negative outcomes relating to both health (e.g. increased mental health problems [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]) and the economy (e.g., increased unemployment and decreased levels of tourism [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]). COVID-19 is a current, and ongoing, example of a public health emergency which has affected over 421 million individuals worldwide [ 7 ]. The long term implications of COVID-19 are not yet known, but there are likely to be repercussions for physical health, mental health, and other non-health related outcomes for a substantial time to come [ 8 , 9 ]. As a result, it is critical to establish methods which may inform approaches to alleviate the longer-term negative consequences that are likely to emerge in the aftermath of both COVID-19 and any future public health emergency.

The definition of resilience often differs within the literature, but ultimately resilience is considered a dynamic process of adaptation. It is related to processes and capabilities at the individual, community and system level that result in good health and social outcomes, in spite of negative events, serious threats and hazards [ 10 ]. Furthermore, Ziglio [ 10 ] refers to four key types of resilience capacity: adaptive, the ability to withstand and adjust to unfavourable conditions and shocks; absorptive, the ability to withstand but also to recover and manage using available assets and skills; anticipatory, the ability to predict and minimize vulnerability; and transformative, transformative change so that systems better cope with new conditions.

There is no one settled definition of community resilience (CR). However, it generally relates to the ability of a community to withstand, adapt and permit growth in adverse circumstances due to social structures, networks and interdependencies within the community [ 11 ]. Social capital (SC) is considered a major determinant of CR [ 12 , 13 ], and reflects strength of a social network, community reciprocity, and trust in people and institutions [ 14 ]. These aspects of community are usually conceptualised primarily as protective factors that enable communities to cope and adapt collectively to threats. SC is often broken down into further categories [ 15 ], for example: cognitive SC (i.e. perceptions of community relations, such as trust, mutual help and attachment) and structural SC (i.e. what actually happens within the community, such as participation, socialising) [ 16 ]; or, bonding SC (i.e. connections among individuals who are emotionally close, and result in bonds to a particular group [ 17 ]) and bridging SC (i.e. acquaintances or individuals loosely connected that span different social groups [ 18 ]). Generally, CR is perceived to be primarily beneficial for multiple reasons (e.g. increased social support [ 18 , 19 ], protection of mental health [ 20 , 21 ]), and strengthening community resilience is a stated health goal of the World Health Organisation [ 22 ] when aiming to alleviate health inequalities and protect wellbeing. This is also reflected by organisations such as Public Health England (now split into the UK Health Security Agency and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) [ 23 ] and more recently, CR has been targeted through the endorsement of Community Champions (who are volunteers trained to support and to help improve health and wellbeing. Community Champions also reflect their local communities in terms of population demographics for example age, ethnicity and gender) as part of the COVID-19 response in the UK (e.g. [ 24 , 25 ]).

Despite the vested interest in bolstering communities, the research base establishing: how to understand and measure CR and SC; the effect of CR and SC, both during and following a public health emergency (such as the COVID-19 pandemic); and which types of CR or SC are the most effective to engage, is relatively small. Given the importance of ensuring resilience against, and swift recovery from, public health emergencies, it is critically important to establish and understand the evidence base for these approaches. As a result, the current review sought to answer the following research questions: (1) How are CR and SC quantified in research?; (2) What is the impact of community resilience on mental wellbeing?; (3) What is the impact of infectious disease outbreaks, disasters and emergencies on community resilience and social capital?; and, (4) What types of interventions enhance community resilience and social capital?

By collating research in order to answer these research questions, the authors have been able to propose several key recommendations that could be used to both enhance and evaluate CR and SC effectively to facilitate the long-term recovery from COVID-19, and also to inform the use of CR and SC in any future public health disasters and emergencies.

A scoping review methodology was followed due to the ease of summarising literature on a given topic for policy makers and practitioners [ 26 ], and is detailed in the following sections.

Identification of relevant studies

An initial search strategy was developed by authors CH and DW and included terms which related to: CR and SC, given the absence of a consistent definition of CR, and the link between CR and SC, the review focuses on both CR and SC to identify as much relevant literature as possible (adapted for purpose from Annex 1: [ 27 ], as well as through consultation with review commissioners); public health emergencies and disasters [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ], and psychological wellbeing and recovery (derived a priori from literature). To ensure a focus on both public health and psychological research, the final search was carried across Medline, PsycInfo, and EMBASE using OVID. The final search took place on the 18th of May 2020, the search strategy used for all three databases can be found in Supplementary file 1 .

Selection criteria

The inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed alongside the search strategy. Initially the criteria were relatively inclusive and were subject to iterative development to reflect the authors’ familiarisation with the literature. For example, the decision was taken to exclude research which focused exclusively on social support and did not mention communities as an initial title/abstract search suggested that the majority of this literature did not meet the requirements of our research question.

The full and final inclusion and exclusion criteria used can be found in Supplementary file 2 . In summary, authors decided to focus on the general population (i.e., non-specialist, e.g. non-healthcare worker or government official) to allow the review to remain community focused. The research must also have assessed the impact of CR and/or SC on mental health and wellbeing, resilience, and recovery during and following public health emergencies and infectious disease outbreaks which affect communities (to ensure the research is relevant to the review aims), have conducted primary research, and have a full text available or provided by the first author when contacted.

Charting the data

All papers were first title and abstract screened by CH or DW. Papers then were full text reviewed by CH to ensure each paper met the required eligibility criteria, if unsure about a paper it was also full text reviewed by DW. All papers that were retained post full-text review were subjected to a standardised data extraction procedure. A table was made for the purpose of extracting the following data: title, authors, origin, year of publication, study design, aim, disaster type, sample size and characteristics, variables examined, results, restrictions/limitations, and recommendations. Supplementary file 3 details the charting the data process.

Analytical method

Data was synthesised using a Framework approach [ 32 ], a common method for analysing qualitative research. This method was chosen as it was originally used for large-scale social policy research [ 33 ] as it seeks to identify: what works, for whom, in what conditions, and why [ 34 ]. This approach is also useful for identifying commonalities and differences in qualitative data and potential relationships between different parts of the data [ 33 ]. An a priori framework was established by CH and DW. Extracted data was synthesised in relation to each research question, and the process was iterative to ensure maximum saturation using the available data.

Study selection

The final search strategy yielded 3584 records. Following the removal of duplicates, 2191 records remained and were included in title and abstract screening. A PRISMA flow diagram is presented in Fig.  1 .

PRISMA flow diagram

At the title and abstract screening stage, the process became more iterative as the inclusion criteria were developed and refined. For the first iteration of screening, CH or DW sorted all records into ‘include,’ ‘exclude,’ and ‘unsure’. All ‘unsure’ papers were re-assessed by CH, and a random selection of ~ 20% of these were also assessed by DW. Where there was disagreement between authors the records were retained, and full text screened. The remaining papers were reviewed by CH, and all records were categorised into ‘include’ and ‘exclude’. Following full-text screening, 26 papers were retained for use in the review.

Study characteristics

This section of the review addresses study characteristics of those which met the inclusion criteria, which comprises: date of publication, country of origin, study design, study location, disaster, and variables examined.

Date of publication

Publication dates across the 26 papers spanned from 2008 to 2020 (see Fig.  2 ). The number of papers published was relatively low and consistent across this timescale (i.e. 1–2 per year, except 2010 and 2013 when none were published) up until 2017 where the number of papers peaked at 5. From 2017 to 2020 there were 15 papers published in total. The amount of papers published in recent years suggests a shift in research and interest towards CR and SC in a disaster/ public health emergency context.

Graph to show retained papers date of publication

Country of origin

The locations of the first authors’ institutes at the time of publication were extracted to provide a geographical spread of the retained papers. The majority originated from the USA [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ], followed by China [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ], Japan [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ], Australia [ 51 , 52 , 53 ], The Netherlands [ 54 , 55 ], New Zealand [ 56 ], Peru [ 57 ], Iran [ 58 ], Austria [ 59 ], and Croatia [ 60 ].

There were multiple methodological approaches carried out across retained papers. The most common formats included surveys or questionnaires [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 42 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 57 , 59 ], followed by interviews [ 39 , 40 , 43 , 51 , 52 , 60 ]. Four papers used both surveys and interviews [ 35 , 41 , 45 , 58 ], and two papers conducted data analysis (one using open access data from a Social Survey [ 44 ] and one using a Primary Health Organisations Register [ 56 ]).

Study location

The majority of the studies were carried out in Japan [ 36 , 42 , 44 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ], followed by the USA [ 35 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ], China [ 43 , 45 , 46 , 53 ], Australia [ 51 , 52 ], and the UK [ 54 , 55 ]. The remaining studies were carried out in Croatia [ 60 ], Peru [ 57 ], Austria [ 59 ], New Zealand [ 56 ] and Iran [ 58 ].

Multiple different types of disaster were researched across the retained papers. Earthquakes were the most common type of disaster examined [ 45 , 47 , 49 , 50 , 53 , 56 , 57 , 58 ], followed by research which assessed the impact of two disastrous events which had happened in the same area (e.g. Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Mississippi, and the Great East Japan earthquake and Tsunami; [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 42 , 44 , 48 ]). Other disaster types included: flooding [ 51 , 54 , 55 , 59 , 60 ], hurricanes [ 35 , 39 , 41 ], infectious disease outbreaks [ 43 , 46 ], oil spillage [ 40 ], and drought [ 52 ].

Variables of interest examined

Across the 26 retained papers: eight referred to examining the impact of SC [ 35 , 37 , 39 , 41 , 46 , 49 , 55 , 60 ]; eight examined the impact of cognitive and structural SC as separate entities [ 40 , 42 , 45 , 48 , 50 , 54 , 57 , 59 ]; one examined bridging and bonding SC as separate entities [ 58 ]; two examined the impact of CR [ 38 , 56 ]; and two employed a qualitative methodology but drew findings in relation to bonding and bridging SC, and SC generally [ 51 , 52 ]. Additionally, five papers examined the impact of the following variables: ‘community social cohesion’ [ 36 ], ‘neighbourhood connectedness’ [ 44 ], ‘social support at the community level’ [ 47 ], ‘community connectedness’ [ 43 ] and ‘sense of community’ [ 53 ]. Table  1 provides additional details on this.

How is CR and SC measured or quantified in research?

The measures used to examine CR and SC are presented Table  1 . It is apparent that there is no uniformity in how SC or CR is measured across the research. Multiple measures are used throughout the retained studies, and nearly all are unique. Additionally, SC was examined at multiple different levels (e.g. cognitive and structural, bonding and bridging), and in multiple different forms (e.g. community connectedness, community cohesion).

What is the association between CR and SC on mental wellbeing?

To best compare research, the following section reports on CR, and facets of SC separately. Please see Supplementary file 4  for additional information on retained papers methods of measuring mental wellbeing.

• Community resilience

CR relates to the ability of a community to withstand, adapt and permit growth in adverse circumstances due to social structures, networks and interdependencies within the community [ 11 ].

The impact of CR on mental wellbeing was consistently positive. For example, research indicated that there was a positive association between CR and number of common mental health (i.e. anxiety and mood) treatments post-disaster [ 56 ]. Similarly, other research suggests that CR is positively related to psychological resilience, which is inversely related to depressive symptoms) [ 37 ]. The same research also concluded that CR is protective of psychological resilience and is therefore protective of depressive symptoms [ 37 ].

• Social capital

SC reflects the strength of a social network, community reciprocity, and trust in people and institutions [ 14 ]. These aspects of community are usually conceptualised primarily as protective factors that enable communities to cope and adapt collectively to threats.

There were inconsistencies across research which examined the impact of abstract SC (i.e. not refined into bonding/bridging or structural/cognitive) on mental wellbeing. However, for the majority of cases, research deems SC to be beneficial. For example, research has concluded that, SC is protective against post-traumatic stress disorder [ 55 ], anxiety [ 46 ], psychological distress [ 50 ], and stress [ 46 ]. Additionally, SC has been found to facilitate post-traumatic growth [ 38 ], and also to be useful to be drawn upon in times of stress [ 52 ], both of which could be protective of mental health. Similarly, research has also found that emotional recovery following a disaster is more difficult for those who report to have low levels of SC [ 51 ].

Conversely, however, research has also concluded that when other situational factors (e.g. personal resources) were controlled for, a positive relationship between community resources and life satisfaction was no longer significant [ 60 ]. Furthermore, some research has concluded that a high level of SC can result in a community facing greater stress immediately post disaster. Indeed, one retained paper found that high levels of SC correlate with higher levels of post-traumatic stress immediately following a disaster [ 39 ]. However, in the later stages following a disaster, this relationship can reverse, with SC subsequently providing an aid to recovery [ 41 ]. By way of explanation, some researchers have suggested that communities with stronger SC carry the greatest load in terms of helping others (i.e. family, friends and neighbours) as well as themselves immediately following the disaster, but then as time passes the communities recover at a faster rate as they are able to rely on their social networks for support [ 41 ].

Cognitive and structural social capital

Cognitive SC refers to perceptions of community relations, such as trust, mutual help and attachment, and structural SC refers to what actually happens within the community, such as participation, socialising [ 16 ].

Cognitive SC has been found to be protective [ 49 ] against PTSD [ 54 , 57 ], depression [ 40 , 54 ]) mild mood disorder; [ 48 ]), anxiety [ 48 , 54 ] and increase self-efficacy [ 59 ].

For structural SC, research is again inconsistent. On the one hand, structural SC has been found to: increase perceived self-efficacy, be protective of depression [ 40 ], buffer the impact of housing damage on cognitive decline [ 42 ] and provide support during disasters and over the recovery period [ 59 ]. However, on the other hand, it has been found to have no association with PTSD [ 54 , 57 ] or depression, and is also associated with a higher prevalence of anxiety [ 54 ]. Similarly, it is also suggested by additional research that structural SC can harm women’s mental health, either due to the pressure of expectations to help and support others or feelings of isolation [ 49 ].

Bonding and bridging social capital

Bonding SC refers to connections among individuals who are emotionally close, and result in bonds to a particular group [ 17 ], and bridging SC refers to acquaintances or individuals loosely connected that span different social groups [ 18 ].

One research study concluded that both bonding and bridging SC were protective against post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms [ 58 ]. Bridging capital was deemed to be around twice as effective in buffering against post-traumatic stress disorder than bonding SC [ 58 ].

Other community variables

Community social cohesion was significantly associated with a lower risk of post-traumatic stress disorder symptom development [ 35 ], and this was apparent even whilst controlling for depressive symptoms at baseline and disaster impact variables (e.g. loss of family member or housing damage) [ 36 ]. Similarly, sense of community, community connectedness, social support at the community level and neighbourhood connectedness all provided protective benefits for a range of mental health, wellbeing and recovery variables, including: depression [ 53 ], subjective wellbeing (in older adults only) [ 43 ], psychological distress [ 47 ], happiness [ 44 ] and life satisfaction [ 53 ].

Research has also concluded that community level social support is protective against mild mood and anxiety disorder, but only for individuals who have had no previous disaster experience [ 48 ]. Additionally, a study which separated SC into social cohesion and social participation concluded that at a community level, social cohesion is protective against depression [ 49 ] whereas social participation at community level is associated with an increased risk of depression amongst women [ 49 ].

What is the impact of Infectious disease outbreaks / disasters and emergencies on community resilience?

From a cross-sectional perspective, research has indicated that disasters and emergencies can have a negative effect on certain types of SC. Specifically, cognitive SC has been found to be impacted by disaster impact, whereas structural SC has gone unaffected [ 45 ]. Disaster impact has also been shown to have a negative effect on community relationships more generally [ 52 ].

Additionally, of the eight studies which collected data at multiple time points [ 35 , 36 , 41 , 42 , 47 , 49 , 56 , 60 ], three reported the effect of a disaster on the level of SC within a community [ 40 , 42 , 49 ]. All three of these studies concluded that disasters may have a negative impact on the levels of SC within a community. The first study found that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill had a negative effect on SC and social support, and this in turn explained an overall increase in the levels of depression within the community [ 40 ]. A possible explanation for the negative effect lays in ‘corrosive communities’, known for increased social conflict and reduced social support, that are sometimes created following oil spills [ 40 ]. It is proposed that corrosive communities often emerge due to a loss of natural resources that bring social groups together (e.g., for recreational activities), as well as social disparity (e.g., due to unequal distribution of economic impact) becoming apparent in the community following disaster [ 40 ]. The second study found that SC (in the form of social cohesion, informal socialising and social participation) decreased after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan; it was suggested that this change correlated with incidence of cognitive decline [ 42 ]. However, the third study reported more mixed effects based on physical circumstances of the communities’ natural environment: Following an earthquake, those who lived in mountainous areas with an initial high level of pre-community SC saw a decrease in SC post disaster [ 49 ]. However, communities in flat areas (which were home to younger residents and had a higher population density) saw an increase in SC [ 49 ]. It was proposed that this difference could be due to the need for those who lived in mountainous areas to seek prolonged refuge due to subsequent landslides [ 49 ].

What types of intervention enhance CR and SC and protect survivors?

There were mixed effects across the 26 retained papers when examining the effect of CR and SC on mental wellbeing. However, there is evidence that an increase in SC [ 56 , 57 ], with a focus on cognitive SC [ 57 ], namely by: building social networks [ 45 , 51 , 53 ], enhancing feelings of social cohesion [ 35 , 36 ] and promoting a sense of community [ 53 ], can result in an increase in CR and potentially protect survivors’ wellbeing and mental health following a disaster. An increase in SC may also aid in decreasing the need for individual psychological interventions in the aftermath of a disaster [ 55 ]. As a result, recommendations and suggested methods to bolster CR and SC from the retained papers have been extracted and separated into general methods, preparedness and policy level implementation.

General methods

Suggested methods to build SC included organising recreational activity-based groups [ 44 ] to broaden [ 51 , 53 ] and preserve current social networks [ 42 ], introducing initiatives to increase social cohesion and trust [ 51 ], and volunteering to increase the number of social ties between residents [ 59 ]. Research also notes that it is important to take a ‘no one left behind approach’ when organising recreational and social community events, as failure to do so could induce feelings of isolation for some members of the community [ 49 ]. Furthermore, gender differences should also be considered as research indicates that males and females may react differently to community level SC (as evidence suggests males are instead more impacted by individual level SC; in comparison to women who have larger and more diverse social networks [ 49 ]). Therefore, interventions which aim to raise community level social participation, with the aim of expanding social connections and gaining support, may be beneficial [ 42 , 47 ].

Preparedness

In order to prepare for disasters, it may be beneficial to introduce community-targeted methods or interventions to increase levels of SC and CR as these may aid in ameliorating the consequences of a public health emergency or disaster [ 57 ]. To indicate which communities have low levels of SC, one study suggests implementing a 3-item scale of social cohesion to map areas and target interventions [ 42 ].

It is important to consider that communities with a high level of SC may have a lower level of risk perception, due to the established connections and supportive network they have with those around them [ 61 ]. However, for the purpose of preparedness, this is not ideal as perception of risk is a key factor when seeking to encourage behavioural adherence. This could be overcome by introducing communication strategies which emphasise the necessity of social support, but also highlights the need for additional measures to reduce residual risk [ 59 ]. Furthermore, support in the form of financial assistance to foster current community initiatives may prove beneficial to rural areas, for example through the use of an asset-based community development framework [ 52 ].

Policy level

At a policy level, the included papers suggest a range of ways that CR and SC could be bolstered and used. These include: providing financial support for community initiatives and collective coping strategies, (e.g. using asset-based community development [ 52 ]); ensuring policies for long-term recovery focus on community sustainable development (e.g. community festival and community centre activities) [ 44 ]; and development of a network amongst cooperative corporations formed for reconstruction and to organise self-help recovery sessions among residents of adjacent areas [ 58 ].

This scoping review sought to synthesise literature concerning the role of SC and CR during public health emergencies and disasters. Specifically, in this review we have examined: the methods used to measure CR and SC; the impact of CR and SC on mental wellbeing during disasters and emergencies; the impact of disasters and emergencies on CR and SC; and the types of interventions which can be used to enhance CR. To do this, data was extracted from 26 peer-reviewed journal articles. From this synthesis, several key themes have been identified, which can be used to develop guidelines and recommendations for deploying CR and SC in a public health emergency or disaster context. These key themes and resulting recommendations are summarised below.

Firstly, this review established that there is no consistent or standardised approach to measuring CR or SC within the general population. This finding is consistent with a review conducted by the World Health Organization which concludes that despite there being a number of frameworks that contain indicators across different determinants of health, there is a lack of consensus on priority areas for measurement and no widely accepted indicator [ 27 ]. As a result, there are many measures of CR and SC apparent within the literature (e.g., [ 62 , 63 ]), an example of a developed and validated measure is provided by Sherrieb, Norris and Galea [ 64 ]. Similarly, the definitions of CR and SC differ widely between researchers, which created a barrier to comparing and summarising information. Therefore, future research could seek to compare various interpretations of CR and to identify any overlapping concepts. However, a previous systemic review conducted by Patel et al. (2017) concludes that there are nine core elements of CR (local knowledge, community networks and relationships, communication, health, governance and leadership, resources, economic investment, preparedness, and mental outlook), with 19 further sub-elements therein [ 30 ]. Therefore, as CR is a multi-dimensional construct, the implications from the findings are that multiple aspects of social infrastructure may need to be considered.

Secondly, our synthesis of research concerning the role of CR and SC for ensuring mental health and wellbeing during, or following, a public health emergency or disaster revealed mixed effects. Much of the research indicates either a generally protective effect on mental health and wellbeing, or no effect; however, the literature demonstrates some potential for a high level of CR/SC to backfire and result in a negative effect for populations during, or following, a public health emergency or disaster. Considered together, our synthesis indicates that cognitive SC is the only facet of SC which was perceived as universally protective across all retained papers. This is consistent with a systematic review which also concludes that: (a) community level cognitive SC is associated with a lower risk of common mental disorders, while; (b) community level structural SC had inconsistent effects [ 65 ].

Further examination of additional data extracted from studies which found that CR/SC had a negative effect on mental health and wellbeing revealed no commonalities that might explain these effects (Please see Supplementary file 5 for additional information)

One potential explanation may come from a retained paper which found that high levels of SC result in an increase in stress level immediately post disaster [ 41 ]. This was suggested to be due to individuals having greater burdens due to wishing to help and support their wide networks as well as themselves. However, as time passes the levels of SC allow the community to come together and recover at a faster rate [ 41 ]. As this was the only retained paper which produced this finding, it would be beneficial for future research to examine boundary conditions for the positive effects of CR/SC; that is, to explore circumstances under which CR/SC may be more likely to put communities at greater risk. This further research should also include additional longitudinal research to validate the conclusions drawn by [ 41 ] as resilience is a dynamic process of adaption.

Thirdly, disasters and emergencies were generally found to have a negative effect on levels of SC. One retained paper found a mixed effect of SC in relation to an earthquake, however this paper separated participants by area in which they lived (i.e., mountainous vs. flat), which explains this inconsistent effect [ 49 ]. Dangerous areas (i.e. mountainous) saw a decrease in community SC in comparison to safer areas following the earthquake (an effect the authors attributed to the need to seek prolonged refuge), whereas participants from the safer areas (which are home to younger residents with a higher population density) saw an increase in SC [ 49 ]. This is consistent with the idea that being able to participate socially is a key element of SC [ 12 ]. Overall, however, this was the only retained paper which produced a variable finding in relation to the effect of disaster on levels of CR/SC.

Finally, research identified through our synthesis promotes the idea of bolstering SC (particularly cognitive SC) and cohesion in communities likely to be affected by disaster to improve levels of CR. This finding provides further understanding of the relationship between CR and SC; an association that has been reported in various articles seeking to provide conceptual frameworks (e.g., [ 66 , 67 ]) as well as indicator/measurement frameworks [ 27 ]. Therefore, this could be done by creating and promoting initiatives which foster SC and create bonds within the community. Papers included in the current review suggest that recreational-based activity groups and volunteering are potential methods for fostering SC and creating community bonds [ 44 , 51 , 59 ]. Similarly, further research demonstrates that feelings of social cohesion are enhanced by general social activities (e.g. fairs and parades [ 18 ]). Also, actively encouraging activities, programs and interventions which enhance connectedness and SC have been reported to be desirable to increase CR [ 68 ]. This suggestion is supported by a recent scoping review of literature [ 67 ] examined community champion approaches for the COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery and established that creating and promoting SC focused initiatives within the community during pandemic response is highly beneficial [ 67 ]. In terms of preparedness, research states that it may be beneficial for levels of SC and CR in communities at risk to be assessed, to allow targeted interventions where the population may be at most risk following an incident [ 42 , 44 ]. Additionally, from a more critical perspective, we acknowledge that ‘resilience’ can often be perceived as a focus on individual capacity to adapt to adversity rather than changing or mitigating the causes of adverse conditions [ 69 , 70 ]. Therefore, CR requires an integrated system approach across individual, community and structural levels [ 17 ]. Also, it is important that community members are engaged in defining and agreeing how community resilience is measured [ 27 ] rather than it being imposed by system leads or decision-makers.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, is it expected that there will be long-term repercussions both from an economic [ 8 ] and a mental health perspective [ 71 ]. Furthermore, the findings from this review suggest that although those in areas with high levels of SC may be negatively affected in the acute stage, as time passes, they have potential to rebound at a faster rate than those with lower levels of SC. Ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of current initiatives as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses into a recovery phase will be invaluable for supplementing the evidence base identified through this review.

• Recommendations

As a result of this review, a number of recommendations are suggested for policy and practice during public health emergencies and recovery.

Future research should seek to establish a standardised and validated approach to measuring and defining CR and SC within communities. There are ongoing efforts in this area, for example [ 72 ]. Additionally, community members should be involved in the process of defining how CR is measured.

There should be an enhanced effort to improve preparedness for public health emergencies and disasters in local communities by gauging current levels of SC and CR within communities using a standardised measure. This approach could support specific targeting of populations with low levels of CR/SC in case of a disaster or public health emergency, whilst also allowing for consideration of support for those with high levels of CR (as these populations can be heavily impacted initially following a disaster). By distinguishing levels of SC and CR, tailored community-centred approaches could be implemented, such as those listed in a guide released by PHE in 2015 [ 73 ].

CR and SC (specifically cognitive SC) should be bolstered if communities are at risk of experiencing a disaster or public health emergency. This can be achieved by using interventions which aim to increase a sense of community and create new social ties (e.g., recreational group activities, volunteering). Additionally, when aiming to achieve this, it is important to be mindful of the risk of increased levels of CR/SC to backfire, as well as seeking to advocate an integrated system approach across individual, community and structural levels.

It is necessary to be aware that although communities with high existing levels of resilience / SC may experience short-term negative consequences following a disaster, over time these communities might be able to recover at a faster rate. It is therefore important to ensure that suitable short-term support is provided to these communities in the immediate aftermath of a public health emergency or disaster.

Robust evaluation of the community resilience initiatives deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic response is essential to inform the evidence base concerning the effectiveness of CR/ SC. These evaluations should continue through the response phase and into the recovery phase to help develop our understanding of the long-term consequences of such interventions.

Limitations

Despite this review being the first in this specific topic area, there are limitations that must be considered. Firstly, it is necessary to note that communities are generally highly diverse and the term ‘community’ in academic literature is a subject of much debate (see: [ 74 ]), therefore this must be considered when comparing and collating research involving communities. Additionally, the measures of CR and SC differ substantially across research, including across the 26 retained papers used in the current review. This makes the act of comparing and collating research findings very difficult. This issue is highlighted as a key outcome from this review, and suggestions for how to overcome this in future research are provided. Additionally, we acknowledge that there will be a relationship between CR & SC even where studies measure only at individual or community level. A review [ 75 ] on articulating a hypothesis of the link to health inequalities suggests that wider structural determinants of health need to be accounted for. Secondly, despite the final search strategy encompassing terms for both CR and SC, only one retained paper directly measured CR; thus, making the research findings more relevant to SC. Future research could seek to focus on CR to allow for a comparison of findings. Thirdly, the review was conducted early in the COVID-19 pandemic and so does not include more recent publications focusing on resilience specifically in the context of COVID-19. Regardless of this fact, the synthesis of, and recommendations drawn from, the reviewed studies are agnostic to time and specific incident and contain critical elements necessary to address as the pandemic moves from response to recovery. Further research should review the effectiveness of specific interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic for collation in a subsequent update to this current paper. Fourthly, the current review synthesises findings from countries with individualistic and collectivistic cultures, which may account for some variation in the findings. Lastly, despite choosing a scoping review method for ease of synthesising a wide literature base for use by public health emergency researchers in a relatively tight timeframe, there are disadvantages of a scoping review approach to consider: (1) quality appraisal of retained studies was not carried out; (2) due to the broad nature of a scoping review, more refined and targeted reviews of literature (e.g., systematic reviews) may be able to provide more detailed research outcomes. Therefore, future research should seek to use alternative methods (e.g., empirical research, systematic reviews of literature) to add to the evidence base on CR and SC impact and use in public health practice.

This review sought to establish: (1) How CR and SC are quantified in research?; (2) The impact of community resilience on mental wellbeing?; (3) The impact of infectious disease outbreaks, disasters and emergencies on community resilience and social capital?; and, (4) What types of interventions enhance community resilience and social capital?. The chosen search strategy yielded 26 relevant papers from which we were able extract information relating to the aims of this review.

Results from the review revealed that CR and SC are not measured consistently across research. The impact of CR / SC on mental health and wellbeing during emergencies and disasters is mixed (with some potential for backlash), however the literature does identify cognitive SC as particularly protective. Although only a small number of papers compared CR or SC before and after a disaster, the findings were relatively consistent: SC or CR is negatively impacted by a disaster. Methods suggested to bolster SC in communities were centred around social activities, such as recreational group activities and volunteering. Recommendations for both research and practice (with a particular focus on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic) are also presented.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Social Capital

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This study was supported by the National Institute for Health Research Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Emergency Preparedness and Response, a partnership between Public Health England, King’s College London and the University of East Anglia. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, Public Health England, the UK Health Security Agency or the Department of Health and Social Care [Grant number: NIHR20008900]. Part of this work has been funded by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Department of Health and Social Care, as part of a Collaborative Agreement with Leeds Beckett University.

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Hall, C.E., Wehling, H., Stansfield, J. et al. Examining the role of community resilience and social capital on mental health in public health emergency and disaster response: a scoping review. BMC Public Health 23 , 2482 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17242-x

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[OPINYON] Buhay-quarantine: Sanayan lang ’yan, bhoi!

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Baka tuluyan nang mawala ang mainit na yakap sa isang kaibigang hindi nakita nang matagal. Hindi na uubra ang umiikot na tagay; unhygienic na rin marahil ang metaphorical na kadaupang-palad at kabungguang-balikat. Mahirap nang manawagan ng pagkakapit-bisig at balikatan dahil, alam mo na, social at physical distancing kahit sa antas ng talinghaga. O malalaos kahit na nga siguro ang makipag-high-five o makipagkamay sa kapwa. Mauuso na across ages ang flying kiss. Mabuti na lang sinagot na ako ng nililigawan ko at nakapag-holding hands pa kami noong ligtas pa at alipin pa ng kilig; mabuti na lang pinakasalan na niya ako (nang walang pagsisisi?) at nagkaroon na ng dalawang anak bago pa ito mangyari. Gayunman, hindi ito garantiya para hindi mangamba.    

Lalo ngang dapat akong mangamba dahil ako ang pinakamalakas ang pangangatawan sa aming bahay, kaya sa akin nakapangalan ang quarantine pass na ginagamit ko tuwing pupunta sa sentro ng bayan dito sa lalawigan ng Quezon. Ito ay sa kabila ng katotohanang dalawa ang maintenance medicine na araw-araw kong iniinom sanhi ng pinabayaang kalusugan noong kabataan ko. Puwera pa ang gamot para sa recurring allergy ko. Hindi pa kasi ako nagsisi noon. Bakit ba kasi laging nasa huli? 

Gaya ng marami sa atin ngayon, hindi rin lumalabas ng bahay ang pamilya ko. Maliban na lamang noong Mahal na Araw, kung kailan naospital at naoperahan ang aking asawa sa labas ng aming bayan. Dati nang mahirap maospital, pero mas mahirap ngayon, lalo’t lumalatay ang salot kahit kanino, kahit saan, lalo sa mga ospital. Idagdag pa ang napakaraming dapat daanang checkpoint, kasama na ang pagpapaliwanag kung bakit kailangan naming lumabas ng bayan at magpa-confine. Nagpagawa ako ng clearance sa ospital – may bayad! – para lamang masundo kami ng isang nagmalasakit na kapitbahay (shoutout sa pamilya Baldovino! Salamat po!) nang ma-clear ng obstetrician-gynecologist para kami makauwi ng aking asawa.

Gusto ko lang linawin, walang kinalaman sa COVID-19 ang naging sakit ng aking esposa. Gayunman, trinato namin ang aming sarili na baka carrier na ng sakit, kaya matapos ang pagkaospital, nag-quarantine kami sa bahay para hindi mahawa ng kung anumang dala naming virus at mikrobyo ang aming mga anak. Nagkaroon ng quarantine area within a quarantine area. Pero kailangan ko ngang lumabas dahil sa akin nakapangalan ang quarantine pass na inisyu ng kapitan ng aming barangay.

Dinadaluyong ako ng alalahanin habang nasa ospital at nagbabantay sa maysakit na maybahay. Iniisip kung sapat ba ang pagkaing naiwan namin sa bahay para sa aking dalawang batang anak at sa senior citizen na biyenan, para sa kung ilang araw. Paano kung may isa sa kanilang hindi naging mabuti ang pakiramdam? Paano na ang gamutan? May ipambabayad pa ba kami kung maoospital? Sa mga sandaling iyon, hiniling ko sa Diyos na sana ibalik na lang ako sa nasakanayan. Bumalik ako sa karaniwang buhay. 

Pero, tanong ko pa rin sa sarili habang nasa ospital, ano ba ang nasakanayan at karaniwang buhay ang babalikan ko?  

S arado ang mga establisimyento dahil sa enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) sa bayan kung saan naroroon ang ospital. Bumibili ako ng makakain at iba pang pangangailangang pang-hygiene sa isang bayaning convenience store, mga isang kilometro ang layo sa ospital. Sa isip ko, gusto ko na lang bumalik sa karaniwang araw. Oo, kahit na naka-ECQ kami sa bahay. Iyon na ang tinatanggap kong babalikang karaniwan. Hindi na ang pre-COVID-19 na karaniwan.

Sa loob ng mahigit isang buwan buhat nang maging kondenado akong hindi muna pumasok sa trabaho, ang itinuturing ko nang pangkaraniwan ay itong naka-schedule ang bawat kilos sa tuwing lalabas para mamili sa bayan. Ito na ang aking nakasanayan. Kaya pag-uwi mula sa ospital noong Pasko ng Pagkabuhay, parang kaygaan-gaan na ang mamili, kaysayang pumila sa palengke. Buo na ang diskarte na noong mga unang araw ng ECQ, parang parusang puwersahang ipinataw.  

Namumuhay akong mag-isa nang matagal na panahon. Kahit pa nang magkapamilya, sa Maynila naman ako nagtatrabaho samantalang narito sa Quezon province ang aking pamilya. Halos sarili ko lang ang aking kargo. 

Kaya nang mag-ECQ, hindi na bago sa akin ang mamalengke. Ang bago lang sa akin ay ang minute difference ng mga produktong pambabaeng dapat kong bilhin para sa aking pamilya. Oo, bawat pagpunta sa bayan ay kasabay ng bagong kaalaman, gaya ng pagkakaiba-iba ng with wings, non-wing, long, maxi, dry, thin, ultra thin, cottony, at overnight na akala ko noon ay pare-pareho lang dahil, di ba, pare-pareho lang ang tatak? Sa sabong panlaba at pambanlaw na kemikal, dapat maging pamilyar ako sa amoy at tatak at flavor. Sa mantika, may galing sa coco at palm. Tumibay din ang paniniwala kong sinungaling ang maraming patalastas na nagsasabing kaya nilang lipulin ang sebo sa plato sa kaunting patak. Mga ganyan. 

Kaya, nakatatawa man, hindi ako gaanong apektado ng mga viral social media posts ng mga mister na nagsesentimyento  o mga mister na kung dati’y kumpiyansa ngayon naman ay binabagabag na ng pagdududa sa pagbili ng produktong papasa sa mapanuring panlasa ng kani-kanilang kapareha. Totoo, masasayang anekdota ang dulot sa atin ng obligasyong lumabas ng bahay sa kabila ng ECQ, lalo na ng mga taong nasanay sa pag-aaruga ng tunay na emperador ng bawat kabahayan. Masasaya paminsan-minsan ang malinaw namang middle-class privilege na makapili pa ng kakainin, maging pihikan o mag-demand sa brand na nakasanayan. Dahil totoo rin namang marami sa ating mga kababayan ang walang ganitong pribilehiyo noon. Lalo pa ngayon.    

Isa pang pribilehiyo ko ngayon ay ang maging bahagi ng isang small-town community effort para maging magaan ang pakikipagkalakalan ng kung ano-anong produkto, ang Lucban Online Tindahan , isang predominantly online gustatory adventure dahil sa samu’t saring iniaalok na tsibog. Dahil bukod sa tanyag na Pahiyas dito sa inari ko nang bayan, sikat din ang Lucban dahil sa masasarap na pagkain. 

Pero bagamat karamihan nga ay pagkain, maaaring makakita ng ilang non-food products. Una kong salang noong isang araw, maghanap ng sapatos dahil naiwan ko sa Maynila ang sapatos kong panlakad at pang-light workout. Mensahe ko: “Looking for training/running shoes. Size 9.5 or 43 (European size). Kahit segunda mano basta hindi gula-gulanit at wala pang radical repairs. Lucban area lang para madali ang transaksyon. PM me the photo and price. Any decent brand will do. Salamat. Kailangan ko lang ng panlakad at pang-light cardio workout.” Wala pang isang oras, may nag-PM na sa akin, iniaalok sa murang halaga ang kaniyang kasukat kong cross-trainer ng isang tanyag na brand ng sapatos na hindi nagamit dahil maliit ang sukat. Mutually beneficial na maging pera ang ibinigay sa kaniyang sapatos na magagamit ko naman sa twice-a-week 3-kilometer walkathon patungo at pabalik mula sa bayan kapag mamamalengke o bibili ng gamot. Tapos ang transaksyon kinabukasan sa meet-up na naganap. Pati ang asawa kong nagpapagaling ay nalilibang ngayon kaoorder ng pagkain sa online forum, na bukod sa mistulang shoppping mall, avenue na rin ng pakikipagkumustahan at tsismisan minsan ng bayan.    

Talk about closed-community ties at inciting robust local economy, hindi nakapagtatakang sa mga darating na araw, hangga’t wala pang nababanaagang linaw kung saan patungo itong ECQ dulot ng virus, at – huwag naman sana! – maubos na ang panggastos dahil sa kawalan ng trabaho, magiging job placement site na rin ang online tindahan. Alam kong marami rin sa iba-ibang bayang umaasa ngayon sa small-scale at mabilisang kalakalan over social media.    

Sa totoo lang, kung aabot sa ganoong sitwasyon, pupuwede uli akong kumayod sa panaderya gaya ng trabaho ko noong ako ay nasa elementarya. O kaya, handa uli akong magpa-interview para sa papasuking bagong trabaho. Ma’am/Sir, hindi po ako maselan, handa po akong muling magsanay at matuto. Dahil hindi dapat ako masanay sa nagiging karaniwan nang pangamba, lalo’t ako ang inaasahan ng aking pamilya.    

Ma’am/Sir, PM is the key. – Rappler.com   

Bukod sa pagtuturo ng creative writing, pop culture, research, at seminar in new media sa Departamento ng Literatura at sa Graduate School ng Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas, research fellow din si Joselito D. delos Reyes, PhD, sa UST Research Center for Culture, Arts and Humanities. Siya ang coordinator ng AB Creative Writing program ng UST.  

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10 Things To Do While Stuck At Home During The COVID-19 Community Quarantine

Things to do at home during quarantine

It seems like staying at home will be the new normal now for us millennials and Gen Zs in quarantined areas. We are being asked to pause our usual carefree ganaps – – no parties, no malls, no traveling – so as to do our part in flattening the curve of disease transmission .

For us not used to being indoors most of the time, staying at home and being socially responsible for a might get boring. But there are a lot of ways we can get creative while at home in these trying times – here are 10 things to do during the Philippines’ quarantine period to keep you in good spirits. 

1.  Go back to your board game days by flexing your Scrabble skills

Express exactly what you think about the coronavirus with Scrabble, a favorite board game people used to play long before they got hooked on computer games. After all, the thrill we get in scoring all those double or triple word scores never gets old. 

Channel all your quarantine frustrations by playing a game of Scrabble by only using COVID-19-related vocabulary , such as “relax,” “breathe,” “isolate,” and perhaps “pray” – a tip shared by netizen @patriciapattypat . 

2. Have pulutan by yourself by cooking your favorite sisig

Your friends and you might not be able to have a pulutan sesh for a while, but this does not mean you can’t have your own while at home.

Get your inner chef to work by cooking sisig – Kapampangan’s regional dish made up of slices of pig parts, chicken liver, onions, and chili. Pair it with an icy cold bottle of San Miguel afterwards to follow the usual pulutan drill .

3. Sing your hearts out with your karaoke machine at home

While you’re at it, you may also set up your home’s karaoke machine to go along with your sisig and alcohol fix.

We Filipinos are known for being karaoke belters anyway, singing our hearts out during birthday parties and weddings – but here is a new opportunity to flex your vocal prowess. Sing to Filipino classics such as songs by Eraserheads, Regine Velasquez, or APO Hiking Society.

Or if you want, you may also use Spotify’s COVID-19 Quarantine Part y playlist as your new default song book. 

4. Watch new Filipino films such as Cuddle Weather in Netflix

Now is the perfect time for cuddling non-stop – or for those of us who are lucky to be with our dyowas during this time.

Fortunately, Netflix has a throng of Filipino films we can cuddle to such as Cuddle Weather (NC-16), starring RK Bagatsing and Sue Ramirez. The film revolves around two sex workers who form a “cuddling partnership,” only to find out they crave something more.

Check out more Filipino movies available for free online here .

5. Reward yourself after studying or working from home with Mobile Legends

Ahh, Mobile Legends – the game that we are obsessed over, what with its variety of heroes and battle spells. For those who’ve been staying away from this game because you fear getting in too deep like your friends already are – now is a good time to play it in moderation with all your time freed up because you’re no longer commuting to school or work. ML indeed meets all the criteria of a good game, including a good storyline, reasonable rules and restrictions, and an opportunity to socialize with fellow gamers. Play responsibly, of course – do your work diligently during the day, then spoil yourself all you want by playing ML at night. 

If you’re someone who hasn’t yet joined the Filipino ML club, you can install it onto your Android or Apple phone. Bear in mind that pretty soon, you might find yourself getting addicted – if the seasonal games featuring our country’s professional ML players aren’t an indication.

6. Take care of your mental health by listening to Filipino podcasts such as Walwal Sesh

It can be hard to stay composed during this health crisis as well, so we owe it to ourselves to take a break for a while from the ongoing barrage of negativity flooding our social media feeds. A calming podcast before sleeping at night can help us wind down before sleeping at night. 

Podcasts about self-care and mental health are aplenty – including Walwal Sesh , hosted by Filipino doctors Renz, Gia, and Vincent who talk about taking care of our mental health while going through adulting stuff such as love, heartbreak, and much more. 

7. Slamdunk with an NBA game on your PC or PlayStation instead of playing basketball outside 

To Filipino bois, a month without basketball is painful, but this sacrifice should be nothing compared to lessening the spread of COVID-19 by not going outdoors.

At least for now, you can indulge yourselves with unlimited team championships in the NBA 2K19 basketball game via a PC or PlayStation.

8. Join the local FB group Subtle Clown Traits if you are young and heartbroken

This quarantine season is the perfect time as well to share your own clownery – according to the local Facebook group Subtle Clown Traits . If you aren’t yet a member of the club, you should know that the group is created by Filipino young adults who come together to commiserate about their crushes and online dating experiences.

They share their screenshots of real online conversations with romantic interests, depicting embarrassing, disappointing, and heartbreaking ways we make fools of ourselves in the name of love .

Amusingly, Subtle Clown Traits has been growing fast since the start of the first enhanced community quarantine in the Philippines, at 280,000 members as of writing. 

9. Revisit your cross-stitching skills

Remember your Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) days back in school, and the cross-stitching classes that you get nostalgic for? With your ample amounts of time, you can now get your needle and thread ready to awaken your dormant cross-stitching skills. 

Not only can you take this opportunity to train your mindfulness and concentration levels, but you can also cross-stitch whatever patterns and quotes you want – such as ones that are updated to reflect modern sentiments on Pinterest . 

10. Plan your future travels in the Philippines

Curiously, right before the spike of COVID-19 cases in the country, this Philippine travel bucket list image created by Ivan Henares was just going viral on Facebook.

Though traveling is the very activity that’s being restricted now, let’s plan our holidays around the places in the Philippines we haven’t yet visited, so we can hit them up when this health crisis is all over.

Things to do during the community quarantine in the Philippines

While a long quarantine is certainly not easy for everyone, especially for the extroverts in us, perhaps this is the world teaching us how to lie low once in a while. 

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About the Annual Course of Moscow Heat Island and the Impact on It of the Quarantine Measures to Prevent the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020

• Published: 28 April 2022
• Volume 58 , pages 168–177, ( 2022 )

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• M. A. Lokoshchenko 1 &
• L. I. Alekseeva 1  

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Seasonal differences in the Moscow urban heat-island intensity (UHII) have been studied in detail based on data obtained in 2018–2020 by the meteorological network of stations located in Moscow and Moscow region. It is shown that the annual cycle of this phenomenon is slightly pronounced. In most cases, the UHI is manifested stronger in summer and weaker in winter; however, in some months, the situation may be reverse. The question of the statistical significance of seasonal differences remains open. The closest statistical relationship was revealed between the UHI and lower clouds during the night hours, so that its highest intensity is observed in the least cloudy seasons (usually in summer). The UHII distribution functions are close to the normal law in summer and spring, and, in winter and fall, they are characterized by a noticeable positive asymmetry, because their values decrease and the mode approaches the lower physical limit. The period of strict quarantine restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring and early summer of 2020 led to a rapid and statistically significant decrease in the Moscow UHII, probably due to both natural factors (increased cloudiness) and human activities (rapidly decreased anthropogenic heat fluxes and a weakened urban industrial haze creating an additional counterradiation).

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1 INTRODUCTION

The task of the authors is to analyze seasonal differences in the Moscow urban heat-island intensity (UHII) and how it was affected by the quarantine measures (the lockdown period) during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It is known that heat islands are created due to differences in the radiation balance (urban–rural differences in surface albedo, intensifying counterradiation by an industrial haze), a decrease in the consumption of heat required for the evaporation of precipitations (due to their artificial runoff) and for the transpiration from plants (the number of which is less within the city), direct heat emissions resulting from human activities; and other factors [ 1 , 2 ]. The reasons for the occurrence of this phenomenon may also include a high heat capacity of asphalt and concrete in cities (walls of buildings, road surfaces, etc.). However, this factor leads not to the formation of heat islands, but rather to a time shift in the diurnal cycle of their intensity: their intensification early at night due to cooling inertia and their attenuation (or even the formation of short-lived “cool islands”) in cities early in the morning due to the inertia of heating up these surfaces. It is also known that heat islands are highly dependent on synoptic conditions: they intensify within anticyclones under calm and clear weather conditions.

The question of annual UHII variations in the middle latitudes is nonobvious. In winter, when urban heating systems operate, the anthropogenic heat emissions are more significant. On the other hand, in summer, there are fewer losses through precipitation evaporation and transpiration in plants in the heat balance of cities when compared to rural areas. Moreover, in summer, the zonal transport becomes weaker in middle latitudes and air stagnations with clear and still nights intensifying heat islands are more often observed. However, heat islands may also intensify in winter under clear anticyclonic weather conditions during severe frosts. Thus, different factors variously affect the annual cycle of heat islands. For Moscow, with averaging over different periods, quite opposite conclusions about the annual UHII cycle were obtained: e.g., the UHII maximum was noted in winter [ 3 ] and summer [ 4 ]. It was shown in [ 5 ] that the seasonal features of the Moscow UHII are ambiguous. A separate study was needed to clarify this question and the effect of a rapid decrease in human activities during the lockdown period on the UHII.

It is very difficult to estimate the anthropogenic heat flux in cities, because direct measurement of it is impossible. However, evidently, its highest values are observed within the heating season in the middle and high latitudes. Sometimes, this flux is either neglected, if summer conditions are considered [ 6 ], or it is considered a remainder term in calculating the heat balance. However, in this case, its estimates include (comparable with its values) errors in determining other terms, which, sometimes, leads to unreal conclusions of its negative values in summer [ 7 ]. In most studies, the anthropogenic heat flux is indirectly estimated based either on generalized data for large areas, or on its estimates obtained for individual small objects and their expansion to a scale of the whole city [ 2 ]. The anthropogenic heat-flux estimates given in [ 8 ] according to the number of buildings and cars releasing heat and the rate of metabolism of the total number of residents may serve as an example of the first approach, and the estimates given in [ 9 ] for the power consumption of each individual building and their generalization per unit area using large-scale maps may serve as an example of the other approach. The calculation results differ enormously from place to place: from 12–13 W/m 2 in the Vancouver suburbs (Canada) [ 8 ] to 1590 W/m 2 in the center of Tokyo (Japan) [ 9 ]; according to generalized data, from 5 to 160 W/m 2 , on average, per year for any city [ 2 ]. According to the estimates given in [ 10 ], the anthropogenic heat flux contributes to the heat-island formation over Tomsk (Russia) of 40–50% (~20–25 W/m 2 ) in summer and 80–90% (~70–75 W/m 2 ) under Siberian severe winter conditions. In addition to the direct effect of heat emissions, heat islands also form due to anthropogenic changes in the radiation balance and other heat balance fluxes. The 2020 global quarantine associated with the COVID-19 pandemic opened up a unique possibility to estimate the intensity of urban heat islands under the conditions of a rapid decrease in both direct and indirect anthropogenic factors when compared to normal conditions in other years.

5 CONCLUSIONS

(1) The annual cycle of the Moscow UHII is rather weakly pronounced. The UHII is usually maximum in summer and minimum in winter; however, in some cases, the situation may be the opposite.

(2) Of natural (nonanthropogenic) factors, the UHII is most closely related to low cloudiness at night; it is most pronounced in months and seasons with clear nights or nights with a small amount of clouds (as a rule, in summer).

(3) The lockdown period during the COVID-19 pandemic from March to June 2020 was characterized by a rapid and statistically significant attenuation of the Moscow UHII due to both natural factors (increased cloudiness) and human activities (decreased anthropogenic heat emissions and a decreased industrial haze due to a rapid reduction of industrial emissions and traffic intensity).

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank N.A. Tereshonok and N.S. Nikolaev from the Central Administration of the Russian Hydrometeorological Service for providing observational data obtained at meteorological stations located in Moscow and Moscow region.

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Lokoshchenko, M.A., Alekseeva, L.I. About the Annual Course of Moscow Heat Island and the Impact on It of the Quarantine Measures to Prevent the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020. Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 58 , 168–177 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433822020086

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Received : 21 June 2021

Revised : 26 October 2021

Accepted : 08 December 2021

Published : 28 April 2022

Issue Date : April 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433822020086

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Moscow Buildings :15 Places Architects Must Visit in Moscow

Moscow is a powerful mix of history and edginess, full of world-famous sites and attractions. Russia ’s capital has been in existence for more than 800 years, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that this city is filled with some of the oldest fortresses, grandiose cathedrals to well sought out public transportation and futuristic skyscrapers .  Here is a list of a few Moscow buildings an architect must tick off his travel list, when in Moscow.

1. Red Square | Moscow Buildings

Centrally located in Moscow, the Red Square has inextricable links to Russian history since the 13th century.  Initially, a marketplace , the square became famous as the site of large-scale military parades and other demonstrations designed to showcase Soviet strength. Presently it is occasionally used for official ceremonies by all Russian governments. The ‘red’ in Red square is unrelated to the crimson brick buildings that surround the square. The Russian name of Red Square- “Krasnaya Ploschad” derived from the word “Krasnyi” meant beautiful in Old Russian and only later became associated with the colour red. The prominent buildings that surround the Square are Lenin’s Mausoleum, Kremlin, Saint Basil’s Cathedral to name a few.

2. The Grand Kremlin Palace

Built-in 1849, was formerly the tsar’s Moscow residence. Intended to emphasise the greatness of Russian autocracy it towers over the Borovitsky hill looming over the Moscow River. Since it is currently the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation, parts of it are restricted for the general audience. The façade has three levels of windows, however, the palace consists of only 2 floors. The opulent interiors of the palace that it was once stripped off of during the Soviet times, were refurbished in the 1990s.

The palace complex also houses the Terem Palace, which is currently the residence of the Russian President, which is not accessible to the public. The exterior of this is exuberantly decorated with brick tracery and coloured tiles is brilliantly painted in red, yellow, and orange.

3. Kuskovo Museum

The former summer country house & estate of the Russian nobility, the Sheremetev family is now home to the Russian museum of Ceramics , the world’s largest collections of ceramics & glass from various countries.

Built in the 18th century, this neoclassical Palace exudes Wes Anderson aesthetic with soft pastel colours on the exterior. The entire Estate was designed for entertainment, festivities & state occasions. The ostentatious interiors accommodate around 26 rooms of which 12 are large staterooms that completely mesmerise you, right from the marble columns of the vestibule, Flemish tapestries, carved motifs in the state bedroom and mirror covered walls in white and gold in the Dancing Hall.

The estate sprawled over 720 acres holds over 20 architectural monuments, including Italian & Dutch houses, an old church, grotto, a Petrine baroque style wooden church and numerous other buildings. It also boasts of an extensive French park, the only kind in Moscow.

4. St. Basil’s Cathedral

At the southern end of the Red Square, stands the whimsical masterpiece of Russia, the St. Basil Cathedral . Unlike any other cathedral, the columnar church is each decorated with onion domes, where none of the designs repeats onto the other. 8 column chapels cluster around the ninth& the tallest one, which houses the main nave of the church. The cathedral’s original colour was said to be white, to complement the white stone of Kremlin, while the domes were gold. However, in the 17th century, the domes began to be painted the remarkable colours that are seen today. Inside this composite church are a labyrinth of narrow vaulted corridors and vertical cylinders of the churches.

5. State historical museum | Moscow Buildings

The red brick building which echoes the St. Basil’s Cathedral resonates well into the architectural narrative of the Red Square. Its exterior is an excellent example of the Russian revival style while incorporating motifs from Muscovite architecture with its tall spires. The museum exhibits a range of relics of prehistoric tribes that lived on the territory of present-day Russia. It boasts 39 halls with unique interiors with different exhibits. The interiors are reminiscent of Russian churches and princely courts. One of the halls is built like a Byzantine cathedral and resembles a miniature Hagia Sophia from the inside.

6. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is the highest orthodox temple in the world and the seat of the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow and all Russians. Located between the Kremlin and Moskva River, it is a magnificent white structure that dominates in a Neo-Russian and Byzantine architectural style. It was built over a period of 40 years from 1839 to 1883, only to be demolished in 1931 by Stalin’s command. It was to be replaced by an authoritarian 415m high structure, from which the concept of Seven Sisters, or Moscow’s 7 large skyscrapers, in Stalinist architecture, was developed. The stone façade with white marble, four columns and 5 gold-gilded domes was beautifully rebuilt, back to its former glory in the early ’90s as a place of pilgrimage.

The GUM, also known as the State department store, is an opulent shopping mall facing Red Square. The trapezoidal building features a combination of elements of Russian medieval architecture and a steel framework and glass roof, a similar style to the great 19th-century railway stations of London . After the 1812 fire, the moat near the Kremlin wall was replaced with sand and the ramparts were eliminated, along with rows of numerous shops were replaced to pave way for a large Classicist building. The building has three levels and is covered with a glass roof resting on a curved steel framework that allows the sun to stream into the space that paves way for customers, a stark contrast from a typical departmental store anywhere.

8. Izmailovo Kremlin

Apart from the main Kremlin in Moscow’s famous Red Square, there is a second, lesser-known Kremlin in the northeastern part of the city, Izmailovo Kremlin.

An unexpected wonderland, the Izmailovo Kremlin is a kaleidoscope of colourful towers. The wooden complex was built in the early 2000s as a cultural centre and marketplace, modelled after traditional Russian architectural and fairy-tale depictions of Old Russia. Set like a small village, it holds a lot of museums, antiques and handicrafts . The variety of built styles is something that keeps you captivated through and through.

9. Tsaritsyno Palace

The palace is part of a magnanimous Palace museum and park reserve in the south of Moscow. The estate was founded in 1776 and renovated extensively in 2007. The Tsaritsyno architectural monument is a major attraction with its large scale expositions in the museum that immerses you in the spirit of the 18 th century.  Built-in Neo-gothic style , the Grand Palace is a three-storey building, flanked by green-roofed towers. Just as almost any other Tsaritsyno building, this one too combines red brick with white stone. The steeples on the towers, lancet windows and arches mesmerise you even from afar.  The estate is also home to a number of pavilions, pergolas, artificial grottos, decorative bridges, Russian orthodox and a naturally inundating but maintained landscape.

10. Sandunovsky Bath House | Moscow Buildings

Immerse yourself in history by visiting the unique and opulent Russian Bathhouse. A national heritage, the Sanduny Bath House is the oldest public bathhouse in Russia. This building holds bath departments, spacious lounge zones, swimming pools and Classical Russian steam rooms, private rooms and 8 separate bathhouse areas with Jacuzzis. Built in the 1800’s, the baths received water via a specially built aqueduct from the Babyegorodskaya Dam on the Moscow River and from 700 feet of an artesian well. The electrical illumination was provided by a private electric power station. The exteriors and interiors are a mix of Baroque, Classical, Renaissance, Gothic and Rococo styles. The hallway leading up to the changing rooms are decorated in elaborate mosaics and frescos.

11. Bolshoi Theatre | Moscow Buildings

The historic 19th-century theatre originally designed by Architect Joseph Bové continues to be a major contributor to the Russian performing arts. It is also home to one of the oldest ballet and opera companies. A mighty Palladian façade with neoclassical columns and horses galloping across the intricately carved pediment enrich the exterior. Restored multiple times through the course of its existence due to fires, its imperial décor and acoustics were finally restored to their former glory in 2011. The interiors are a mix of Renaissance with Byzantine style, a cue from the alluring theatres across Europe such as Palais Garnier in Paris.

The white balconies interspersed with gold, the bright crimson draping of the interiors and a magnificent chandelier are a sight to behold.

12. Ostankino Tower

The TV tower, built-in 1967 by Nikolai Nikitin, has been the tallest freestanding structure in Europe for over 50 years. On contrary to a tall structure relying on a deep foundation, the foundation of Ostankino’s tower was made resilient by making its foundation far heavier than the structure itself.

The concept of the silhouette of the building was an upside-down lily, with a firm stem and solid petals as supports. With 2 observation decks at 337m and 340ms, the glass and open observation decks provide breath-taking views of the entire city.

One can only begin to fathom the sheer expanse and planning of the city is mesmerizing from that height.

13. Arbat Street

An all pedestrian street where you can roam about and take in all the architecture at your own leisurely pace, Arbat is a dream come true. One of the most famous streets in Moscow, the Arbat was once a bohemian place that transitioned over the ages into being home to a lot of prominent Russian writers and poets. The huts paved the way to one – two-storey mansions with tower rooms and gardens that further developed into multi-storey tenement houses in various architectural styles. The few prominent styles were Art Nouveau, eclecticism and Avant-Garde, which are still of great interest for architectural connoisseurs.

14. Melnikov House

The eccentric house that Konstantin Melnikov built for him and his family was surrounded by a whirlwind of controversy and un-acceptance, but over the years turned into a 20th-century icon for Russian architecture. With an aesthetic different from traditional Soviet residential architecture, it was an essence of the later Russian Avant-garde. It features 2 interlocking cylindrical volumes standing 3 stories high with enough space for the family, and studio space. The windows are a series of shapes resulting in a honeycomb structure with angles that were determined by the quarter lengths of the standard local bricks. These windows provided an even dispersion of light, air and heat that beautifully lit up the interior space.

15. The Moscow Metros | Moscow Buildings

The underground world of Moscow reads of a whole other world of amazing architecture for a daily commuter. The Metro was one of the major propaganda of the Soviet-era right from 1938, with a desire of the Soviet leaders to communicate the power of the union to citizens and visitors.

The underground palaces for the people were initially a Russian version of art Deco with some avant-garde forms that slowly transitioned to Neo-Classical with Imperial motifs. These stations are an embodiment of brilliance and a radiant past. All the stations differ from one another some are richly decorated with ornaments and bas reliefs; some are vaulted with large mosaics depicting historic events in history with gilded arches. The cost to experience them is only that of a metro ticket.

A 25 year old Architect still trying to make her way into the world. Simran Shukla is an enthusiastic learner who loves to design and sketch once coffee is introduced into her system. Loves working on new projects and with new people. Her ideal vacation spot would be a beach.

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