Player from Detroit Pistons Tests Positive for COVID-19
The player from the Detroit Pistons, Christian Wood, has tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the third NBA player to contract COVID-19.
The Pistons, without identifying Wood, issued a statement on Saturday saying that one of their players had tested positive.
Wood's agent, Adam Pensack, told the Detroit News that his client is the one and added that "he feels 100% fine."
"A player from the Detroit Pistons, who has been under the care of the team's medical staff and in self-isolation since Wednesday night, was tested for COVID-19," the Pistons said in a statement.
"A preliminary positive result came back on March 14. The health and safety of our players, our organization, those throughout our league, and all those potentially impacted by this situation is paramount."
"We are working closely with the team's medical staff, state and local government, and public health officials and the NBA to notify that person will remain isolated and under the care of the team's medical staff," the statement adds.
The 24-year-old player experienced flu-like symptoms before playing the game on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
On March 7, Wood scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against the Utah Jazz, whose player, Frenchman Rudy Gobert, became the first NBA player to test positive for the disease that has caused a worldwide pandemic.
His teammate on the Jazz, Donovan Mitchell, was the second to test positive in the NBA.
Wood, who is in his first season with the Pistons, scored a personal record of 32 points against the Sixers on Wednesday.
That was the same afternoon that Gobert's COVID-19 diagnosis led the NBA to indefinitely suspend its season.
On Thursday, the Pistons said that all of their players, coaches, and staff "would isolate until further notice."
The Pistons, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics, and the defending champions Toronto Raptors played games against the Jazz recently.
The Raptors, who played against the Jazz on Monday in Salt Lake City, tested all of their players and all came back negative, but on Friday they said they were still awaiting results from one more test. (D)