COVID-19 Control in Philippine Highly Urbanized Cities: Utilizing Public Health Open-Source Government Data for Epidemic Preparedness and Response

Highly Urbanized Cities (HUCs) in the Philippines were at the forefront of public health surveillance and response during the COVID-19 pandemic response. With the rapid spread of COVID-19 to Philippine cities, local government units continuously assessed, adapted, and implemented public health interventions (PHIs), and depended on available open-source government data (OSGD). This study consolidated PHIs in selected HUCs in the Philippines using high quality OSGD to create a timeline of interventions and document good practices in local COVID-19 control. OSGD resources were collected from February 2020 to January 2023, and data quality of OSGD was evaluated using the JAMA benchmarks. A total of 180 metadata sources were included in the analysis. All OSGD sources achieved at least two core standards with a mean (±SD) JAMA score of 3.03 (±0.90) indicating these are high-quality resources. COVID-19 control strategies were analyzed vis-à-vis the rise of COVID-19 cases and types of PHIs, including control of imported cases, case management, contact management, behavioral modification, and pharmaceutical intervention. Travel bans and hard lockdowns in Luzon early in the pandemic delayed the introduction of COVID-19 to other parts of the country. Good practices of LGUs for local COVID-19 control, such as quarantine passes, curfews and liquor bans, using QR-based contact tracing, massive community testing in high-risk communities, and free public swabbing centers, were implemented to slow down the local spread of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of OSGD for community and public health, especially for quick action and control, and post-pandemic assessments. Lessons learned must be integrated in epidemic preparedness and response programs against future emerging or re-emerging infections.