Karl-Anthony Towns: Mother in coma; Wolves confirm COVID-19 diagnosis

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has become the latest public face in the fight against the coronavirus after revealing in an emotional video late Tuesday night that his mother has been hospitalized for the past week and is dealing with health complications from what he believes to be COVID-19.

Towns did not say in the video whether his mother, Jacqueline Cruz, had been diagnosed with the virus, but the Timberwolves confirmed to ESPN's Malika Andrews on Wednesday that Cruz has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Towns said his mother is in a medically induced coma and had to be put on a ventilator.

"I think it's important that everyone understands the severity of what's happening in the world right now with the coronavirus, and I think where my life is right now could help, so I decided to do this video and give you an update of where I'm at," Towns said during a nearly six-minute video posted to Instagram. "I was told early last week my parents weren't feeling well. My first reaction to her was to go seek medical attention immediately. There's no reason to wait, just go to the nearest hospital. And after a couple days of not showing any signs of improvement, I was very adamant on the first day to go to a hospital and seek further evaluation.

"Specifically, my sister told her she needs to get checked for corona. I don't think anyone really understood what it was, with deteriorating condition. She kept getting worse, she kept getting worse, and the hospital was doing everything they can.

"She just wasn't getting better," Towns continued. "Her fever was never cutting from 103, maybe go down to 101.9 with the meds, and then immediately spike back up during the night. She was very uncomfortable. Her lungs were getting worse, her cough was getting worse. She was deteriorating. She was deteriorating -- and we always felt that the next medicine would help. This is the one that's going to get it done. This mixture is going to get it done."

Towns, who was born and raised in New Jersey, said his parents were not feeling well over the past week and that both were tested for COVID-19. Towns noted that his father, Karl Sr., was released from the hospital and had been told to self-quarantine as they awaited the results of the test.

Towns said the family assumed his mother had COVID-19 because of the symptoms she was showing, but she started to feel better in recent days before taking a turn for the worse.

"She was feeling great," Towns said in the video. "We talked, and she felt she turned the corner; I felt she was turning the corner. I knew there was more days to come, but I felt that we were heading in the right direction. They said that she went sideways and things had went sideways quick. And her lungs were extremely getting worse and she was having trouble breathing, and they were just explaining to me that she had to be put on a ventilator. And she was getting worse and she was confused by everything, and I'm trying to talk to her about everything and encourage and stay positive, just talk through everything with her."

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, who was diagnosed with the virus two weeks ago but has said he was asymptomatic, offered supportive words to Towns on Twitter.