They were the first two NBA players to test positive for the COVID-19 virus or coronavirus, and now they are both said to be cleared. It’s being reported today that Utah Jazz All-Stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell – along with the entire Jazz organization – have been given the all-clear from coronavirus after completing their self-isolation and quarantine periods recommended by the CDC and the NBA.
A statement released today by the team reads as follows:
‘As of today, Friday, March 27, all Utah Jazz players and staff have been cleared by the Utah Department of Health after completing their respective periods of isolation and quarantine following exposure to COVID-19.’
‘In accordance with CDC and NBA recommendations, all players and staff will continue to practice social distancing while limiting time outside of their homes to essential activities’.
‘The Utah Department of Health has determined that all Jazz players and staff, regardless of prior testing status, no longer pose a risk of infection to others’.
As we all aware of by now, the NBA has been suspended indefinitely ever since first Gobert, then Mitchell, both tested positive for COVID-19 in the team’s locker room when the Jazz were in Oklahoma City taking on the Thunder on March 11. While we are still a long way off from seeing some NBA action again as the world continues to battle COVID-19, this news is a huge positive in a time where positive news is needed more than ever.
Of course, Gobert and Mitchell are not the only players from the league who have tested positive for the virus as multiple players including former MVP Kevin Durant and three of his Nets teammates, seven members of the Philadelphia 76ers team, Detroit Pistons’ Christian Wood, Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart, and a member of the Denver Nuggets have all contracted coronavirus.
