Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Idris Elba, and Kristofer Hivju have all tested positive for coronavirus. Another beloved celebrity who was exposed to the virus and is taking precautions is Al Roker. A staff member who works on the third hour of Today tested positive for the virus on Saturday, and Al and Craig Melvin are staying home for the time being, according to Savannah Guthrie:
Roker and cohost Craig Melvin have been self-isolating as a precaution after a third-hour Today employee tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, March 15.
“Craig and Al have taken the morning off, so we can trace their contacts, see what is going on with them,” Guthrie told viewers on Monday. “[Both] are fine right now. They feel good, but caution is the order of the day.”
Viewers can still see Al, though, as he delivered the Tuesday weather report from his kitchen. He also confirmed an important piece of information: he was wearing pants while working:
I didn’t have to commute in, so I did sleep in,” the weather anchor, 65, told Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb after the cameras cut to him standing in his kitchen next to a computer monitor. “Want to make sure there are no NBC News crews here. This is my iPad [filming me] … and we’ve kind of jerry-rigged this system, and I’ve got all my graphics and everything I need.”
Roker then sat down next to the screen and forecasted the weather for the week with a pair of AirPods in his ears.
When Guthrie, 48, asked the weatherman what he was wearing below his blue button-down shirt, he stood up and hilariously confirmed, “Yes, I’m wearing pants, for God’s sake! But they’re stretchy pants.”
On Monday night, Al posted a reassuring, sweet video on Instagram:
He reassured viewers that he and his family are OK, and said that he would be working from home Tuesday. He also said that he was thinking of first responders, health care workers, and everyone who has been affected by coronavirus. Al prefers the term “physical distancing” to “social distancing,”: “I think, socially, we want to connect.'” Agreed. I am an introvert, but I’ve been picking up the phone more than usual lately, and it’s made me feel a bit more cheerful. (Like Al, I’ve enjoyed wearing “stretchy pants” while working.) I hope that he and his family members don’t end up testing positive for coronavirus. I also hope that we don’t have to engage in “physical distancing” for too long. Experts predict that if we practice distancing, the effects of the virus will let up in about two months.
Thank you for that fantastic headline, Quimby haha.
And how relatable is that “yes I’m wearing pants… but they’re stretchy” haha.
Good story. I got as far as a shower and a bathrobe for my work at home day today.
I have to do webexes for work now and discovered the joy of a pretty scarf and a dab of lipstick… before that…oof…
I’m on Skype calls with clients as my three teenage step children are wondering about in their pajamas in the background, my fussy two year old who wants to play keeps bringing me toys, and my two dogs are barking at each other. I’m sure my clients are thrilled that they’re paying $400/hr for my counsel right now. My husband who does not practice emergency medicine and hasn’t been in an ER since medical school, got called in to cover a 72 hour shift because all elective procedures in our hospital system have been cancelled and they’re having all hands on deck in urgent care and in the ER. So I’m braving this by myself for the next several days. Thank God I got my Xanax prescription refilled!
The wife of a former colleague posted to fb earlier than he was on a conference call (he’s quite senior in a big professional services firm) when their three year old came in the room and started ‘daddy, daddy, daddy’ until one of the other people on the phone said “I think you need to see what the young lady wants!”. It’s happening to everyone. Good luck with your situation.
I do a lot of work via phone/video (I do leadership assessments, coaching, feedback sessions, etc.) and I’m mostly at home for these as I work freelance but usually the other person is in their office so I’m totally smart from the waist up and stretchy pants/slippers below. But now I’m finding the other people are also in their homes more and more and yesterday I assessed a guy for a senior job in a big multinational and he was there in his crisp white shirt and nice suit jacket… until at one point he sifted around and I saw the grey sweatpants! I feel you dude.