Towns recorded an emotional Instagram post late Tuesday night revealing that his mother had been placed in a medically induced coma as a result of lung problems by Covid-19.

The Timberwolves star hoped to draw attention to the seriousness of the spread of the novel coronavirus saying that he encouraged both his parents to seek immediate medical attention after they fell ill early last week. His father was eventually released from the hospital and put into quarantine but his mother's condition deteriorated.

In a 2019 profile of Town's, his mother, Jacqueline Cruz, is said to have previously worked as a nurse.

In the video, Towns said both parents were tested for the virus but it took days to get the results by which point Cruz's fever had reached as high as 103 degrees and could not be brought lower than 101.9 degrees, even with medication.

“She was very uncomfortable,” Towns said in the video. “Her lungs were getting worse, her cough was getting worse. She was deteriorating in front of our eyes. We always thought the next medicine would help. This next one is going to get it done. ... She was deteriorating daily.” 

“She was telling me things that I didn’t want to hear,” Towns said. “I dismissed some things she was saying because it wasn’t something I wanted to hear.”

Despite a slight improvement in his mother's condition, her lungs then deteriorated rapidly to the point that she had to be placed in a medically induced coma and intubated on a ventilator. Towns haven't communicated with her since.