MANILA, Philippines — Robin Padilla has revealed that he, his wife Mariel Rodriguez, their two daughters, and a family member have contracted the flu.
In an Instagram post on Thursday, Padilla said that he first experienced having a clogged nose, which later led to coughing.
Padilla added that his daughter Isabella later had the flu, and quickly spread to the little girl’s mom, her sister Gabriela and to her godmother Analyn.
“Alhamdulillah naagapan ang pagkalat sa mga ibang kasamahan dahil sa kagyat na pag quarantine sa aming may mga flu at ang pagkarga ng vitamin c ng lahat ng mga nasa bahay at ang pagsaksak ng flu vaccine sa mga hindi carrier,” Padilla said.
(Praise be to God, the virus was prevented because those who had the flu went to quarantine. Those who live in our home also took their Vitamin C and had their shot of the flu vaccine.)
In Padilla’s post, it also showed that he, his wife, and Analyn underwent a nasopharyngeal swab test for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Their results turned out negative.
The action star then thanked his wife, saying: “Maraming salamat babe @marieltpadilla sa pag aalaga mo sa aming lahat kahit hirap ka sa paghinga inaasikaso mo pa kaming lahat.”
(Thank you babe for taking care of us even though you had a hard time breathing, you still chose to prioritize all of us.)
He likewise expressed gratitude to his mom for checking on them, as well as the doctors who were there to check his and his family’s condition.
An Associated Press (AP) report said it was “impossible” to tell if someone has contracted the flu or COVID-19 as both illnesses share similar symptoms.
One difference is that people with the flu typically feel sickest during the first week of illness. Those with COVID-19 may feel the worst during the second or third week, and they may be sicker for a longer period.
Dr. Daniel Solomon, an infectious diseases expert at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, also told AP that it was possible to be infected with both viruses at the same time.
To date, the Philippines has 296,755 COVID-19 cases, with 231,928 recoveries and 5,127 deaths.