A 32-year-old family member of mine contracted COVID19. He complained that the virus had taken his sense of taste and smell.
That’s why it doesn’t surprise me to hear Utah Jazz player 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.
Just to give you guys an update, loss of smell and taste is definitely one of the symptoms, haven’t been able to smell anything for the last 4 days. Anyone experiencing the same thing?
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) March 22, 2020
It appears that other people have experienced the same thing and some of them haven’t been tested and are still going to work!
Im on the same boat. Dry cough, fever, no smell or taste. Pretty sure i have the virus but im torn as to what to do. I dont have the money for the tests and my job isn't paying us if we miss days. They dont even seem to care if you have the virus or not.
— AKA_1335 (@AKA_1335) March 22, 2020
Gobert tested positive for the virus on March 11 and on March 15th he said he was feeling better.
A message from @rudygobert27 pic.twitter.com/eKV6asutGN
— NBA (@NBA) March 15, 2020
According to BET.com, 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.”
Meanwhile, the NBA is still holding out hope that they can resume the season in June. However, NY Governor Cuomo says that the worst is yet to come and the Democrats and Republicans haven’t agreed on a stimulus bill.
