Whoopi Goldberghas tested positive for COVID-19 as theOmicron variantof the virus continues to spread rapidly across the country.
The Viewco-hostJoy Beharrevealed the news at the top ofMonday’s episode, sharing that Goldberg, 66, has mild symptoms after being vaccinated and receiving the booster shot.
Behar and the rest of the panel, includingSunny Hostin, Sara Haines and guest hostAna Navarro, were filming the talk show remotely from their own homes, a set-up that Behar said she hoped would be only temporary.
“They say there’s no place like home for the holidays and that’s exactly where we are this year,” she said. “Happy New Year from all of our living rooms. As you can see we’re back in boxes and doing the show remotely — hopefully for just a week, I’m praying that it’s just a week but you never know because this omicron thing is all over the place.”
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Behar, 79, continued, “Why am I here instead of Whoopi? Well, Whoopi, unfortunately, tested positive over the break but she’ll be back probably next week. Since she’s vaxxed and boosted, her symptoms have been very, very, mild. But we’re being super cautious here atThe View.”
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Hostin, 53, then revealed that she and her mom also tested positive for COVID over the holiday break but have since recovered. Isolating for Christmas was particularly hard for her family, Hostin said, as her husband Manny’s parents both died of COVID-19 within three days of each other on Dec. 28, 2020, and Jan. 1, 2021.
“I FaceTimed with my family for Christmas and New Year’s and it was extremely difficult,” she said. “My mom also tested positive for COVID. We’re all negative now and thank god Manny and the kids and my dad were negative and remain negative.”
“I’m so thankful that I was vaccinated and boosted because I only had cold like symptoms, but I didn’t feel great honestly and it just goes to show you that the vaccine and the boosters do work and it makes sure that you’re not hospitalized for something like this and it makes sure that you don’t die from something like this,” Hostin continued.
Whoopi Goldberg.Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
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Goldberg and Hostin’s positive diagnoses come amid the surge of COVID-19 cases currently ravaging the country, due in part to the highly contagiousomicron variant. According to theNew York Times COVID data tracker, the United States recorded over 585,000 new cases of the virus on Dec. 30.
However, recent research suggests that the new variant may bemilder and less deadlythan previous ones, especially given the availability of vaccines andbooster shots.
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
