I am fortunate enough to have avoided COVID-19 to this point, so I don't know how I'd be feeling had I received the unfortunate news of a positive test. But I sure wouldn't want someone to give me a dismissive, "suck it up, you'll be fine." The fact of the matter is that this isn't the case for millions of people out there, regardless of how healthy that person was prior to their exposure to the virus.
SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt announced that he had tested positive on Twitter on Thursday afternoon, receiving mostly supportive responses from colleagues and fans.
Fortunately, it sounds as though he is doing okay for now, something that he acknowledged and rightfully preceded with "thankfully." The loss of taste and smell is quite common, as 86 percent of people with mild to moderate cases of the illness experienced issues with their sense of smell (via Leo Newhouse of Harvard Health Blog).
And while all of these posts likely come with responses that underplay the potential severity of the illness, it's not every day that the initial poster answers these comments. Scott Van Pelt changed that.
Good on you, SVP. Cases are rising at an unsustainable rate — there have been 100,000 new cases in the United States every day since November 4, with single-day records of 280,514 new cases and 3,025 deaths occurring on days within the past week — and he's in the right to announce to the many people who care about his health and are fans of his show what his status is.
Van Pelt, at 54 years old, is an age group that has a hospitalization rate four times higher than the 18-29 year old comparison group (via CDC). Count us among those wishing for a speedy and smooth recovery for SVP.
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