OKC Thunder forward Gallinari philanthropy, positive tested players fully recovered
Three weeks after the OKC Thunder and Utah Jazz game was postponed the players who tested positive have fully recovered and Danilo Gallinari joined the philanthropic efforts.
Signs you’re missing sports – – your highlight of the week is getting hyped over Survivor OG Boston Rob claiming three of four fire tokens and outplaying his competition! And, while talking to Rylan Stiles about OKC Thunder basketball cheering over a replay of the Manitoba curling championship game.
Let’s face it I’m in full-on basketball withdrawal and desperate for live sports.
Yesterday marked three weeks since the NBA suspension began and it feels more like a year! At least there is some good news trickling out finally as these news stories occupied NBA social media feeds and mainstream sites.
Original positive tested players recovered:
Teams updated on players who tested positive for COVID-19 are now symptom-free including the Jazz Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.
All Utah Jazz players and personnel -- including Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell -- have been cleared by the Utah Department of Health, per team. DOH has determined that no Jazz player/staffer poses a risk of infection to others.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) March 27, 2020
The Pistons’ Christian Wood, four Brooklyn Nets and Celtics Marcus Smart are also all symptom-free now. As for Smart he’s doing something pretty amazing. The Celtics defensive specialist is donating his blood plasma to help researchers.
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart plans to donate his blood plasma to National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project for research on the blood of those recovered from coronavirus, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 1, 2020
Since the initial onslaught of positive tests which resulted in double-digit positive results, no additional players showed symptoms or tested positive.
There is news of others involved in the business contracting COVID-19 including TV analyst Doris Burke and Knicks owner James Dolan. Thankfully Burke is symptom-free now and Dolan is said to be asymptomatic.
Players continue philanthropic efforts:
Early on several players rose to the occasion by donating funds to pay arena employees’ salaries. A new trend finds players like Danilo Gallinari and former player Stephon Marbury working to help medical professionals.
Hospital workers need gloves, gowns, and masks and from the beginning of the pandemic, tests for COVID-19 have been in short supply.
Danilo Gallinari is funding 400 COVID-19 testing kits, as well as personal protection equipment such as face shields, gloves, gowns, n95 masks for the the OKC-County Health Department next week (which recently partnered with a private lab out of Texas to test high risk people).
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) March 27, 2020
As per Royce Young, the OKC Thunder sniper Gallinari is paying for 400 COVID-19 testing kits and the protective wear health professionals are desperate for in the OKC-County. Gallinari was among the very first in the NBA to get on board doing whatever was necessary having been well aware of the struggles in his native Italy who were already hit hard.
T.I. noted some resources in a recent post which OKC residents may find useful as well as the main sites to bookmark in case you have any questions or need guidance.
As always, stay safe and healthy.
Next. NBA 2020 Mock Draft 1.0 – Options abound for Thunder. dark
For more information on the coronavirus please note the following sites:
Oklahoma State Department Help Center: 877-215-8336
Oklahoma State – dedicated coronavirus site: click this link
The World Health Organization – click this link
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – click this link