Sara Haines joins Whoopi Goldberg in taking a break from “The View” after an encounter with COVID-19.
Joy Behar announced the news at the beginning of the Jan. 4 episode, via People.
“Sara was in close contact, so she’s not here,” Behar said. “It’s like Agatha Christie, ‘And then there were three.'”
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While Haines “feels fine”, she’s “laying low today” added the host.
Comedian and previous guest panelist Yvette Nicole Brown sat in for Haines for the episode.
All the panelists, which included Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin, called in remotely to perform their duties.
“I was able to get away for a couple of days with my two oldest kids before the holiday. I was heading to Florida, so I was going into the lion’s den,” Haines said on the previous episode. “But I came out okay. We got to see my parents, my siblings.”
While Haines didn’t seem to come down with anything, her husband Max Shifrin wasn’t so lucky.
“I came back to a COVIDpositive husband. So Max got COVID and we had to quarantine within the house,” she said. “I had the kids, we were in K-95 masks. We were lucky we were in a house now because we never could have done this in an apartment. But we’ve stayed clear and I’ve tested negative four times.”
For those worried about the host being in such close proximity, she assured viewers they were taking every precaution.
“I’m boosted, vaccinated. We were really prudent with our hands and staying away from each other,” she added. “The kids still ask today, ‘Can we touch Papa? Is he better yet?'”
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The panel was still down Whoopi Goldberg as well, who came down with COVID-19 over the holidays. She missed the Dec. 15 and 16 episodes of the show, though she called in for the Dec. 17 episode.
According to Behar, Goldberg “feels fine and healthy.”
