Child who tested positive for Coronavirus got Rudy Gobert’s autograph last week

The important news first: This child is reportedly doing well.

It’s also important to note this child likely did not get the virus from an NBA player. Still, this could have been a worst-case scenario for the league.

A second-grader in Rhode Island who tested positive for COVID-19 had gotten an autograph from one of the Utah Jazz’s two infected players at the Utah/Boston game last Friday. That is according to Police Chief Shawn Lacey of Westerly, Rhode Island, via the Providence Journal.

Lacey said at a news conference that according to the information the town received, one of the students had recently returned from a cruise to the Bahamas, while another had been to an NBA game in Boston last week, and got an autograph from a player who contracted the virus.

Two Jazz players, All-Stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, have tested positive for COVID-19, with Gobert thought to be patient zero in the NBA.

However, Gobert did not even show symptoms until this past Tuesday and most likely was not contagious with the disease at the time of the autograph, according to multiple health experts. From Scott Isaacs, the news director of NBC 10 in Rhode Island:

Officials tell us one of the Westerly children who tested positive for #COVID19 had contact with Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert, receiving an autograph from the player - who has tested positive - when the Jazz were in town to play the Celtics last week @tdgarden

— Scott Isaacs (@ScottIsaacs) March 13, 2020

That is not to say Gobert transmitted the virus. From Celtics statement Thurs: "DPH has advised us that based on those players’ health statuses during this period, it is unlikely that anyone from the team came into contact with (the Jazz players) while they were contagious."

— Scott Isaacs (@ScottIsaacs) March 13, 2020

It is, at the moment, a very unfortunate coincidence. Here's hoping Gobert, Mitchell, and these two kids all recover quickly.

— Scott Isaacs (@ScottIsaacs) March 13, 2020

The NBA suspended play after it found out Gobert had the virus. The league is shut down until April 10, when the matter will be revisited.

A primary concern from the NBA’s perspective was the possible spread of the disease — from fans to fans, or players to fans, then those fans unknowingly spreading the virus around their communities. In this case, it’s easy to imagine a scenario where the child might have passed the virus along to an elderly relative without even knowing. Fortunately, this case was discovered, and the child’s school has been closed down for the next two weeks and other parents notified. However, containment of this very contagious virus is not easy.