Friday’s episode of “The View” was a stark reminder that, despite this week’s events, we are still in the midst of a deadly pandemic that is not under control.
Co-host Sunny Hostin addressed viewers in an emotional segment where she revealed that she lost her husband’s parents to the coronavirus while on vacation.
“After talking to [my husband], he felt that, from a public health standpoint, it was very important for me to share that we are deeply sad because Manny lost his parents during the holidays, ”said Hostin, who was visibly trying to contain his tears. “He lost his father on December 28 and lost his mother on New Year’s Day, both to COVID.
“They were both doctors and very careful. They didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving with us because we all decided it was not safe, ”she added. “And after a lot of contact tracking, we still don’t know how they got this virus.”
Hostin, 52, went on to thank the health professionals who took care of her in-laws, saying “they were doing God’s work”, allowing her and Manny FaceTime with their parents when they passed away.
“COVID is very, very serious,” she said. “It is not a joke, it is not a scam.”
After thanking his “View” co-hosts for their support – among them, Whoopi Goldberg sent food and Meghan McCain sent bourbon – Hostin ended by saying: “We want everyone to know that you can think you are healthy and will not be affected, but you can be an asymptomatic carrier. You can put someone you love at risk.
“So please, I beg you, social distance, wear your mask, wash your hands, and if you have the opportunity to get this vaccine, take it.”
The United States set a new bleak record this week, with the death toll in a single day creeping to 4,000 – and then surpassed that milestone on Thursday, the deadliest pandemic day in the U.S. so far.
The country saw more than 21,500,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and more than 364,500 deaths on Thursday night, according to John Hopkins University.