Davao Mayor Sara Duterte was not alone when COVID-19 struck in her house early October.

Eleven of 17 members of her household initially caught the virus, and some of them were confined to a hospital, Duterte told the Davao City Disaster Radio on Monday, October 25.

It was the first time for Mayor Duterte to give details about what she described as an outbreak that sent her and other household members to quarantine.

While most of those who were infected by COVID-19 either had mild symptoms or none at all, at least one child had needed oxygen supplementation, she said.

Duterte did not identify the other members of her household who got infected. She and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, have two sons and an adopted daughter.

The President’s daughter was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on October 19, less than a week after 11 of her household members tested positive for the virus.

“Initially, I was among the five who tested negative,” Duterte said.

She said she was tested again days later after she developed an itchy throat.

“My symptoms were very mild,” Duterte said.

At first, she said, she had thought that her throat was merely irritated because of the Betadine mouth spray she had been using.

Duterte said she had no cough and no cold, but she later lost her sense of smell and taste.

She said the children in her household, who were unvaccinated, were the first to catch the virus.

“We all took care of them, and then adults got infected,” Duterte said. “It’s a good thing that they were able to pull out of it.” – Rappler.com