Geng Martinez' 7-year-old nephew, Liam, was having his breakfast on August 5 inside their house in Quezon City when he complained of not being able to taste his favorite fried rice, egg, and tocino.
Martinez thought Liam, who may not be aware of the symptoms of COVID-19, was only joking about having the virus so she did not pay attention to what he said.
But several days later, Martinez realized it wasn't a joke.
Nine of them in the household were already positive for the virus. What's worse, Liam, as well as Martinez' 11-month-old baby and 15-year-old child also contracted the virus
"Maybe if we already did something that time, if we only listened to him that he couldn’t taste, we would have already isolated him and had him tested," she told Manila Bulletin in an interview.
"But no. Because we didn't think it was COVID-19, we got all infected," she added.
Data from the Quezon City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU) showed the number of kids infected with COVID-19 quarantine almost quadrupled in just a month. From 81 active pediatric patients on July 1 to 7, the number rose to 318 in August.
For 42-year-old Martinez, her family's 14-day quarantine period was the longest time of her life. She could hardly sleep. She had to stay awake to look after her children who were suffering from chills early in the morning. She was also the one preparing breakfast for the household as all their patients were experiencing symptoms worse than her.
“When I found out I was positive, what first came to my mind were my children. I told the Lord, I had to look for my children because I couldn’t afford losing one of them. As a mother, I had to make a sacrifice,” she said.
“I was also a COVID-19 patient, you know that. I was experiencing some symptoms during our quarantine period. But I didn’t pay attention to it. I just told myself I needed to boost my immune system,” she added.
Dr. Rolly Cruz, CESU head of Quezon City, attributed the rise of COVID-19 infection involving kids to “the improper way by which COVID-19 positive adults quarantine themselves."
He said these adults were the ones who would stay-at-home despite manifesting COVID-19 symptoms and "not self report to CESU."
But it wasn't the case for Martinez' family. Her nephew was the one who showed the symptoms.
And although she shares the same household with 10 other family members, they live in a big house in Barangay Fairview that affords them enough space and separation from one another. Nevertheless, they were not spared from household infection.
Until now, Martinez, who is a hospital nurse, could not trace where they got the virus. She believes she got it during her stay at the hospital or during her ride in public transportation, but she also thinks it could be from her sister who also works at a hospital, or from her mother who doesn't believe in COVID-19.
She suspects that the Delta variant of COVID-19 was the one that infected them. She said the infection was so quick that all of them in the household got infected although they barely engaged with one another.
"What I worry (about) now is what if it happens again? And on the second time, would it worsen? So I'm already telling them that if they feel something, just as simple as itching in their throat, they should not doubt it. They should already wear masks and isolate themselves. Since we're still in a pandemic, they should isolate themselves already once they feel something bad," she said.
"And don't take for granted whatever the children are saying. We didn't care about what Liam said, that he couldn't taste anything, and this happened to us," she added.