Savannah Guthrie, 48, is taking every precaution she can after it was announced that a Today show staffer tested positive for COVID-19 aka the coronavirus on Mar. 16. The anchor shared a message to her Instagram page on Mar. 17 that revealed she’ll be anchoring the NBC show from her home after she started suffering from “a mild sore throat and runny nose”, which could possibly be symptoms of the virus.
“Hi everybody! Well, this will be a first. I’m going to be anchoring TODAY from my house!” Savannah wrote alongside two pictures showing her with cameras in her basement. “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. This was the advice of NBC’s superb medical team and my bosses. I feel good and am sure I will be back in no time – but during these days, it’s on all of us to be extra cautious and caring of those around us. #loveyourneighbor So see you tomorrow on TODAY – from my basement!”
Savannah’s message comes just hours after her Today co-anchor Al Roker, 65, reported on the weather for the show from his home. He didn’t go into the studio as a precaution after he realized he had contact with the staffer who was confirmed to have the coronavirus. Co-anchor Craig Melvin, 40, also had contact with the staffer and worked from home. “Craig and Al are out once again,” Savannah told viewers alongside Hoda Kotb, 55, while on the air. “We’re just being super, super cautious. There was a 9 o’clock hour employee — on the 3rd Hour Today — who tested positive for the virus. Craig and Al had some contact with — so in an abundance of caution, we’re keeping them home. But they feel good.”
Al, Craig, and Savannah are just three of many people who have been in quarantine since the coronavirus was named a pandemic by the World Health Organization last week. The virus, which started in Wuhan, China in Dec. 2019, has quickly progressed and has now infected a total of 198,644 people, worldwide, including 6,469 Americans, and killed 7,983.