COVID-19 susceptibility mapping: a case study for Marinduque Island, Philippines

Small islands are highly susceptible to infectious disease outbreak and other health emergencies because of their remoteness, small physical size, and poorly developed infrastructure. These are true in the case of Marinduque, an island province around 200 km south of the National Capital Region (NCR), which is the “epidemiological epicenter” of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. This study utilized GIS and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) using demographic, socio-economic, and geographic indicators to map susceptibility of different villages in the island province of Marinduque, the Philippines. Based on the results, the northwestern and northeastern portion of Marinduque has a higher susceptibility score. Also, villages in the town centers have relatively high susceptibility scores compared to other villages in each municipality.