NBA 2020 coronavirus news: Terrifying test stats a US tragedy, Nets star furious

Frightening figures from the NBA show just how unprepared America is for the coronavirus pandemic as nerves start to fray in the US.

Chris Paul of the Oklahoma City Thunder. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)

The panic created by Utah Jazz centre Rudy Gobert’s positive test for the coronavirus was the flame that sparked America into action.

But it also robbed the state of Oklahoma of 20 per cent of its coronavirus testing kits, highlighting how unprepared the US is for the pandemic.

After Gobert tested positive last week, 58 players and personnel from the Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder were screened for the virus.

They used 20 per cent of the available stock of test kits for the entire state.

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio says it’s not fair NBA stars have the ability to get tested for coronavirus so quickly while members of the general public are forced to wait.

Yesterday it was confirmed four NY Nets players tested positive for the virus, including new recruit and ex-Golden State Warriors championship winner Kevin Durant.

ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Nets paid a private company for the tests, an Ave not readily available to the majority of the population.

“We wish them a speedy recovery. But, with all due respect, an entire NBA team should NOT get tested for COVID-19 while there are critically ill patients waiting to be tested,” de Blasio tweeted.

“Tests should not be for the wealthy, but for the sick.”

Healthcare systems around the world have been stretched by the surge in the need for coronavirus testing as the global pandemic causes chaos. Many are having to wait both for tests and their results as hospitals and medical departments try to make do with what resources they have.

The NBA season was suspended after Utah Jazz centre Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus, as did his teammate Donovan Mitchell days later.

The Nets didn’t release the identities of the four players who returned positive tests, but it was reported in American media Durant was one of the quartet.

Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson, File)

NETS STAR FURIOUS: ‘F*** THAT LADY’

The coronavirus pandemic — and the quarantine it’s brought on — is fraying nerves. Wilson Chandler found that out Wednesday.

A day after four Nets tested positive for COVID-19, Chandler was happily watching old movies when he got what he felt was a less-than-tactful call from his building manager.

“Building manager called me saying ‘Oh, I seen Nets players had the virus. We would like to know your status. And if you could possibly stay out of the lobby etc. We can’t afford to lose our staff,’” Chandler tweeted.

After the Nets returned from California on March 12, they all got tested for COVID-19 — something that recently drew criticism from Mayor Bill de Blasio, even though the team footed the bill.

Four players came back positive on Tuesday — Kevin Durant and three unidentified others — and the team stated that the quartet was “presently isolated and under the care of team physicians.”

All the players were asked to “remain isolated.” Chandler had just been tweeting about movies, noting “Contagion” and “The Big Short” seemed fitting considering the pandemic and resulting stock market plunge, and praising Russell Crowe’s “A Beautiful Mind” just before the interaction.

Still, nerves are frayed over the pandemic that has infected 200,000 worldwide and more than 1,300 in New York City alone as of Wednesday morning. And news of the Nets testing positive obviously spread, including to the 32-year-old Chandler’s building manager.

“Didn’t even ask was I OK, one. And two, she didn’t ask me if I had been tested and if it was negative or positive,” Chandler tweeted. “F*** this building man. I’m going home.”

At the moment, it’s not exactly clear what “going home” meant.

Everybody who came into contact with those four Nets — teammates, family, opponents who’d faced them recently — would be expected to self-quarantine and take appropriate precautions.

“Has to be 300 + plus ppl in this building coming and going. Plus Fed Ex and UPS deliveries, Amazon etc,” Chandler tweeted, adding, “F*** that lady man.”

— New York Post’s Brian Lewis

Originally published as NBA 2020 coronavirus news: Terrifying test stats a US tragedy, Nets star furious