Utah Jazz Player Rudy Gobert Says He’s Lost Two Of His Five Senses Due To COVID-19
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who tested positive for COVID-19 nearly two weeks ago, gave an update on his Twitter account Sunday saying he has already lost his sense of taste and smell due to the disease and is asking if others are experiencing similar symptoms.
The NBA announced March 11 that Gobert, 27, had tested positive for COVID-19. His diagnosis spurred the suspension of the remainder of the league’s 2019-2020 season. Since the announcement 13 other cases have been confirmed among NBA players, including Gobert’s teammate Donovan Mitchell.
RELATED: BET Reports On COVID-19 -- Updates, Facts And News You Need To Know
However, in an update on the NBA’s twitter feed, Gobert said he was starting to feel better.
In an article appearing on ENTUK.org, a website that presents information from ear, nose, and throat specialists, Prof. Claire Hopkins, president of the British Rhinological Society and Prof. Nirmal Kumar, president of ENT UK, said that anosmia, or smell blindness, occurred in 10-15 percent of coronavirus cases that came up before the discovery of COVID-19, so it is unsurprising that it happens in novel coronavirus patients.
“There is already good evidence from South Korea, China and Italy that significant numbers of patients with proven COVID-19 infection have developed anosmia/hyposmia,” Hopkins and Kumar wrote. “In Germany it is reported that more than 2 in 3 confirmed cases have anosmia. In South Korea, where testing has been more widespread, 30% of patients testing positive have had anosmia as their major presenting symptom in otherwise mild cases.”
Still, the most common symptoms of the disease, according to the World Health Organization are fever, tiredness, and dry cough. People with these symptoms should seek medical attention, the WHO says. Other patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea.
