Coronavirus News: 26-year-old athlete from New Jersey released from hospital after COVID-19 recovery
METUCHEN, New Jersey (WABC) -- A 26-year-old standout athlete from New Jersey is back at home after being released from the hospital following a fight with COVID-19, Governor Phil Murphy said Monday.
Former Ridgewood High School lacrosse star and two-time All-American for Bates College Jack Allard left the hospital last Thursday, Murphy said, five weeks after being admitted and placed on a ventilator.
"For Jack and the hundreds more who have recovered, we're optimistic," Murphy tweeted.
His mother, Genny Allard, previously told Eyewitness News her son had been in a medically induced coma for six days.
"My son is healthy," she said at the time. "No pre-existing conditions and he's 25. This virus is really dangerous, and now he is very, very sick."
For days, Allard suffered a fever after continuing to work in Manhattan.
"He shouldn't have been in his office that week before he got sick," Genny Allard said.
Murphy called Allard a picture of heath and used his story to remind people that while elderly and immune-compromised individuals are at the highest risk, this virus can attack anyone.
"He never vaped, he never smoked," Genny Allard said. "He took his health very seriously, I mean he's an athlete."
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