COVID is still coming for you, make no mistake. I hope you don’t get it, but it’s still highly contagious. If you are not feeling well, take that test. Like Savannah Guthrie did in the middle of her Today shift yesterday and the results came back positive. Savannah had started her show but wasn’t feeling very well. So she stepped off camera and that’s when they gave her the COVID test. When that second line appeared, they told Savannah to go home and don’t come back for at least five days (at least I hope they did).
Savannah Guthrie tested positive for COVID on Tuesday while hosting Today.
The anchor unexpectedly stepped away early from Tuesday’s broadcast. But her positive test was reported on air by Sheinelle Jones during the show’s 8 a.m. hour.
“By the way, it has been an interesting morning for us,” Jones began. “As we said, Savannah left early, she wasn’t feeling great, so she took a COVID test. It came back positive.”
Jones added, “So, as soon as we found out, she rushed home to rest up. So Savannah, we love you, wishing you a speedy recovery.”
My first thought was that having an anchor suddenly disappear mid show from Today of all show would be particularly jarring. Like, what have they been accused of now? But no, Savannah just came to work showing symptoms with a highly transmissible airborne respiratory illness. I guess I don’t understand why they waited until after she’d started working to administer a test. I get being asymptomatic and not testing, but if anyone is not feeling well, I thought we were all still testing. I shove a swab up my family’s nose if they look at me wrong. Everyone in my extended family is vaccinated, boosted and wearing masks in crowds and we’ve all gotten COVID. It almost killed my dad who was hospitalized with it deep in his lungs and heart. He’s still suffering the effects. I didn’t realize film and TV sets weren’t still doing tests regularly.
Savannah’s absence at least got explained. Hoda Kotb’s, on the other hand, remains a mystery. She hasn’t been on the show live since Feb 17th. Today aired a pre-recorded show for President’s Day but all of Hoda’s other time slots have been filled by other anchors or guests. In the meantime, she’s been posting cryptic inspirational quotes to Instagram about hope and miracles. I hope she’s okay. I hope both she and Savannah heal quickly with whatever is keeping them from set.
Savannah Guthrie gets third case of COVID, has to go home 20 minutes into hosting Today show when positive test results come in. (Video: NBC) pic.twitter.com/gC9ubA8Fez
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) February 28, 2023
Photo credit: Cover Images and Getty Images
FWIW, we’re stating allergy season (at least, the first round of pollen fell overnight Monday in North Carolina) or she could have woken up with a dry throat and thought it was a case of needing a humidifier or blah blah blah and then felt progressively worse as the morning went on. My husband had COVID last month after we took a trip to Germany and when he woke up not feeling well on our first full day back, he assumed it was from being up for 26-hours for traveling and the time change. It wasn’t until dinner time when I got suspicious and suggested he test himself.
Yes – also in NC and my car is again yellow. And again playing the game of am I sick or is it allergies. I thought I had at least one more month.
Right?! I cannot believe I went outside on February 28 to a yellow car! Isn’t it usually late March?!
Same here in Hampton Roads. The dreaded green dust showed up on my car over the weekend. So not ready for this mess.
Savannah should have called in sick instead of showing up. That was irresponsible of her. Especially when she has co-workers like Al Roker with precarious health situations.
^ this!
If your job requires you to sit shoulder to shoulder with other people, talking and talking and talking… you don’t go to work when you’re sick. Also, test first BEFORE you go on set, or heck, before you go into makeup and hair and wardrobe. How many people did she expose?
Also, yeah it’s on me for reading the SM, other site’s comments on this, but I’m still astounded at the deep quagmire of idiocy, misunderstanding,
misinformation that people are still spouting… ie using her multiple infections as evidence vaccines don’t work* or worse that they cause it, etc etc
* a) that’s not how COVID vaccines work and b)perhaps the fact that this is her 3rd infection and she’s still alive and functioning is a hint that they DO work ie they lower the risk of serious illness, disability and death from the virus
Yep, totally agree. Even if it hadn’t been Covid, it wasn’t exactly nice to show up sick to work, risk infecting your coworkers (and guests too!) At the very least she should have tested as soon as she got there, not after the show had started.
Agreed. the idea that it was okay for her to miss work when it turned out to be COVID but not just because she didn’t feel well is part of the problem in our society IMO. I know allergies are hitting right now (trust me, my sinuses know it!!) but I can tell the difference at this point between allergies and actually having a bad cold or being sick, I’m sure SG can too. She should have said she was sick and NBC should have plans to cover for that.
Forget Savannah, is that Carson Daly? Wow has he aged. And Al Roker looks so teeny tiny! I guess I haven’t watched morning tv in a few decades, lol
On the Today show they just said Hoda was dealing with a family health emergency and will be back soon.
Is that she’s afraid somebody would take her job if she calls in sick? I don’t understand why she would go to work if she wasn’t feeling well, especially with COVID still around. If I was working at that show I’d be pissed off because she willfully exposed me to COVID
I’m not sure where y’all work but many people are stressed about keeping their jobs right now and US work culture has traditionally been if you’re not in the hospital, you can go to work. Things haven’t changed all that much.
She’s not in a regular US job. Her former cohost used to take a helicopter ride, paid by NBC, to work. She can take a day-off with no penalty if she’s not well.
What on earth does a co-worker using a helicopter have to do with how she feels about her own job security or the work culture?
She works in TV. She doesn’t have a regular job where she can’t take a day off sick. When I asked if she was afraid if someone would take her job I was talking about her being pushed aside as the main anchor of the Today show by one of co-workers like Ann Curry was.
Well, welcome to the Three Timers Club, Savannah.
For what it’s worth, with both my 3rd and 4th bouts (yes, I’m vaxxed and boosted, but I have a malabsorption disorder which makes my immune system kinda crap). the onset of symptoms was rather sudden. I was feeling pretty great until I just…wasn’t. One minute I was vacuuming, the next I felt like I got hit by a truck. Could be something similar going on here. I hope Savannah wouldn’t knowingly put her colleagues at risk like that.
The radio silence about Kotb is concerning considering her history with breast cancer. That or a significant illness of one of her children are probably the only situations in which I can imagine they’re so tight lipped
I’m more interested in her whereabouts, also. She’s a sweet lady, and I hope everything is okay. On Insta, she posted Choose Hope, which worries me a bit
Yes!! This should be a full article about Hoda. I sure hope she’s okay!
After avoiding Covid until October of last year, my whole family just went through it again last week but this time with step added as well. We had 2 ER visits and a pediatrician visit for my son and no one even tested him for Covid. The pediatric ER said they weren’t testing for it anymore bc it wouldn’t change anything 😳
Ugh hate we are still dealing with this! My whole family (me, husband, toddler and fourth month old at the time) all got it in October. It wasn’t too bad, just a few days feeling bad and fatigue for a few days after and the baby (obviously not vaxxed) only has some sniffles. We aren’t around a lot of people usually but do go out to concerts and yoga classes here and there and take the kids to the library. So far we have been good but I’m guessing out immunity from
Oct will be wearing off soon so trying to be extra careful and take zinc, c, d etc.
In my experience, COVID comes on super fast. She might have been feeling fine in the morning and it didn’t hit her until she was at work already. I say lay off her, at least she tested and went home! She could have finished out her shift first!
Agreed. We have no idea if she felt unwell before she got there. Sometimes you wake up thinking you’re just extra tired, have a slight headache, didn’t sleep well, have allergies, etc and you don’t realize until after a bit that you are actually feeling unwell. I have no judgment here, especially since she has such an early morning job and is used to the grind of getting up no matter what and going through the hair/makeup/wardrobe routine.
I just got covid for the first time. I’ve never been so sick in my life, this is awful! Kudos to anyone who has gone through it several times, I never want it again. I’ll be lining up for my fifth shot as soon as I can. I’m immune compromised so I expected to still get sick but not like this. I don’t know how people don’t get vaccinated and face this head on.
Rest up. Hope you feel better soon!
Thanks, that’s very kind of you.