There was a morning scramble Tuesday on NBC’s Today show, but no cooking segment involved.
The morning program had to move fast in replacing one of its co-hosts while on the air after it was discovered that Savannah Guthrie tested positive for Covid-19.
Guthrie was forced to abruptly vacate her anchor chair this morning, leaving Sheinelle Jones with the task of handling her flagship morning news show duties.
Guthrie’s co-anchor Hoda Kotb has already been off the program for seven days, her absence unexplained as of publication time.
Jones explained Guthrie’s absence, which happened during the first half-hour of the 7 a.m. block, by saying that she had to “leave a little early this morning.”
Jones later on, at the end of the 8 a.m. broadcast, revealed the true reason for Guthrie’s disappearance, saying, “It’s been an interesting morning for us. As we said, Savannah left early. She wasn’t feeling great, she took a Covid test, and it came back positive.”
Jones, who was joined on set by Al Roker and Carson Daly when delivering this message, added, “So as soon as we found out, she rushed home to rest up. So Savannah, we love you, wishing you a speedy recovery.”
Savannah Guthrie had to leave the show this morning after testing positive for COVID-19 during the live TODAY broadcast. pic.twitter.com/6TYJlr0bs5
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 28, 2023
According to NBC News, this is the third time Guthrie has tested positive for Covid, with previous instances being in January and May 2022. She has been vaccinated and also received a booster shot.
In a bit of playfulness, Roker, who recently returned to the show after missing some time and being hospitalized due to blood clots in his lungs, slowly moved away from Jones as she delivered the news about Guthrie.
Roker jokingly added, “Luckily, Sheinelle was sitting between me and Savannah.”