On Tuesday, Al Roker delivered the forecast from his kitchen. Over the weekend, a staffer on the third hour of Today tested positive for coronavirus. On Monday night, Al, who prefers the term “physical distancing” to “social distancing,” posted on Instagram that he and his family were OK, but that he was self-isolating as a precautionary measure.
On Wednesday, Al, Hoda, and Savannah were all in different places! Al was at home again, this time, he appeared to be sitting in his dining room. Hoda was in the studio, and Savannah was in her basement. You can see a clip from that above.
Savannah said that she had a sore throat and the sniffles, and normally wouldn’t think anything of them, but because the coronavirus is new, doctors are still learning about it and its symptoms, so she thought that it would be wise to stay home. She also reminded everyone that the CDC is telling people to stay home if they are sick. Al also wanted to make clear that no one from NBC was in his or Savannah’s houses helping them: Savannah’s husband was acting as her “tech manager,” and Al was using his iPhone on a tripod.
On Tuesday night, Savannah tweeted about her sore throat and her decision to stay home:
Hi everybody! Well, this will be a first. I’m going to be anchoring TODAY from my house! In an abundance of caution, and to model the super vigilance the CDC has asked of all of us, I’m staying home because I have a mild sore throat and runny nose. 1/2
— Savannah Guthrie (@SavannahGuthrie) March 18, 2020
On Wednesday morning, she tweeted behind-the-scenes photos from her basement, where her husband, Mike Feld, was acting as both her producer and her technician:
Live… from my basement… this is TODAY. Big shoutout to my husband @feldmike who has turned into producer and technician!! pic.twitter.com/HqsnH4ZmJn
— Savannah Guthrie (@SavannahGuthrie) March 18, 2020
Among the interviews that Savannah conducted Wednesday morning was one with New York City’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, who is increasingly worried about the growing number of coronavirus cases in the city. He said that more than 100 people were diagnosed on Tuesday, bringing the city’s confirmed total to nearly 1,000. By Wednesday night, that number was closer to 1,800.
I hope that Savannah is ok, and that she, Hoda, and Al are back in the studio together soon!
Photos credit: Avalon.red and screenshots from YouTube
This sounds very reasonable to me and I’m glad they’re being good examples. I’m struggling with some choices to make about my kids activities next week. They’re enrolled in a spring break camp that is at an organic farm with fewer than 20 children total, broken into small groups and taking sanitizing and hand washing precautions. Should I let them go ahead and have this amazing experience?
As a side note, thanks to everyone who was sending me supportive and kind comments last week when I was freaking out about giving birth. I finangled my way into an induction on Monday night, and my little guy was born happy and healthy Tuesday morning. I’m glad he’s here and we’ll be home before the hospital in our town gets overwhelmed!
Congrats! Great news.
Glad to see the Today show doing this.
Congratulations on your baby!
@sophie, Congratulations! Are your older kiddos feeling better?
To answer your question about camp… I don’t know if you should take the chance right now. Especially given their recent colds, their immune systems are still building back. While the camp would be in small groups and outside, it’s still a risk. Are they responsible enough to maintain 4-6 feet from other kids? Do the activities even lend themselves to kids staying far apart? I assume they will be touching the same things, and even if they have gloves, it’s near impossible to tell kids not to pick a nose or wipe a hair (at least my nose-picking, hair-wiping kids).
I trust you to make the best decision for your family, and wish you nothing but continued health and rest for you and baby. I wish we could share photos here because my spirit could use a little baby-swoon right now!
Thanks for all the kind words! Yeah, we pulled the kids out of camp to be safe and then it was canceled anyway. Good choice by the farm.
Congratulations on a healthy baby!
Can Al Roker please run for president? Is there any man more loved in America? He’s so awesome!
It’s nice to see them taking this seriously and setting a good example. I wish more people would follow suit.
Congratulations on your new baby! Try to enjoy this time even with the world being so weird right now.
If it were me I would keep my big ones home. It’s not so much how responsible MY kids are, but rather how irresponsible other kids can be. Now with a new baby at home I really wouldn’t take any chances. If you’re nursing that will help boost the baby’s system but I still wouldn’t take any chances. I’m in Texas and any groups larger than 10 have been shut down – I think that’s wise.