One thing that has become evident in many of the places that are currently wrestling with COVID-19, both in the United States and abroad, is that hospitals alone are struggling to fight the virus. In addition to those impacted by this novel coronavirus, there are still the folks who just need to go to the hospital for other various illnesses and ailments, and the capacity to make sure everyone gets treated just isn’t there due to a flood of new patients.
As such, we’ve seen a number of temporary solutions. A pair of hospital ships have been deployed to two of the largest epicenters for the spread in the virus in the United States, Los Angeles and New York, while in the Big Apple, the monstrous Javits Center has been turned into a temporary hospital with a thousand beds. In China, meanwhile, gymnasiums were turned into isolation centers.
Elsewhere in the U.S., Michigan has been hit hard, with metrics indicating nearly 3,700 cases and 113 confirmed casualties as of this writing. In response, the Detroit Pistons have decided to lend a hand and offer up the use of one of their buildings for whatever health officials might need, according to James Edwards of The Athletic.
Per source, the #Pistons have offered their new performance center (practice gym, team headquarters) to health officials for “whatever best use is.” That could be for COVID-19 testing, temporary hospital for patients overflowing from Henry Ford or a sleep facility for med staff.
— James Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) March 28, 2020
After a tense few days between Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer and president Donald Trump, the state’s disaster declaration was approved on Saturday. As for how the franchise will specifically help, Edwards reported that conversations are still ongoing between the Pistons and officials on how to best use the space. The team is among the handful in the NBA that has seen a player test positive for COVID-19. Forward Christian Wood caught the virus, but fortunately, he received the all clear from doctors.