Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz reacts in an NBA game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, January 6, 2020. (Photo: VCG)

As the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19, Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz had some bad news on Sunday: he has shown symptoms of the disease.

"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?" the French center posted on Twitter.

So far 14 players and other staff from six NBA teams have tested positive for the new coronavirus but none of them had reported any symptoms until Gobert made his announcement.

This news raised understandably raised concerns. The virus has proved highly contagious but its lethality is relatively low if proper measures are taken. Many of the infected could recover completely and may even show no symptoms.

The most prevalent symptoms for the disease include fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nonetheless, the British Association of Otorhinolaryngology said Friday that more and more patients are suffering from anosmia, a lost sense of smell.

Since Gobert was confirmed positive for the new coronavirus, he has been faced a lot of criticism because of his actions after a media appearance ahead of his test, though there is still no proof that he is "patient zero" of the NBA. In fact, his positive test result was one of the major reasons that the league decided to act faster and more seriously on dealing with COVID-19.

Evan Fournier (L) and Rudy Gobert of France during a quarterfinal against Team USA at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Dongguan of south China's Guangdong Province, September 11, 2019. (Photo: VCG)

Gobert's fellow countryman Evan Fournier from the Orlando Magic has been defending him all along. In a recent interview with L'Equipe, Fournier continued to do so.

"It's typically the thing where we're going to blame the stranger. He's European so he brought the virus back? When we don't know. Who says it was not Donovan Mitchell who infected him? The environment is unhealthy, not helped by what Donald Trump says," said Fournier.

Mitchell, Gobert's Utah Jazz teammate, has also tested positive.