Davao mayor cuts short self-quarantine

DAVAO CITY –– Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte cut short her voluntary isolation that began Thursday (March 12) following an attendance at the Senate where she came in contact with persons who could be at risk for COVID-19 infection.

The presidential daughter was listed as a Person Under Monitoring on Thursday after recognizing two potential risks of exposure to the virus.

The first risk was her meeting with Senator Sherwin Gatchalian—-also under home quarantine—-who interacted with a resource person in a Senate hearing. That person was later learned to have tested positive for COVID-19.

Dr. Josephine Villafuerte, City Health Office chief, cleared Duterte on Friday, explaining that the potential risks were already ruled out after seeing a Senate CCTV footage.

In a statement, the Davao local government said the CCTV footage showed that Senator Sherwin Gatchalian did not have close physical contact with the Senate resource person, which means he is safe from possible infection.

This makes Mayor Duterte also safe from COVID-19.

While in quarantine, Duterte issued a guideline limiting the movement of people in Davao City to prevent the further spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, Duterte’s household employee, who was reportedly ill, has been diagnosed with tonsillitis and is now recovering after being administered antibiotics medicine./lzb