‘Today’ Host Hoda Kotb Gives Tour of Eerily Quiet NBC Studio Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Before Crying During Broadcast

Hoda Kotb gave viewers a peek inside her new morning routine on the TODAY show as she works almost completely alone amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic the day before the seasoned anchor broke down in tears during the live broadcast.

Sharing a glimpse at her morning routine on Instagram, Kotb begins her day on the unusually empty streets of New York City before wishing the few select employees still staffing the lobby of Rockefeller Center a good morning before heading upstairs to her dressing room. Showing off a drawing from 3-year-old daughter Haley, Kotb notes how eerily quiet the studio and backstage area is as even co-anchor Savannah Guthrie works from home for precautionary reasons after feeling ill last week. Al Roker has also been working from home since a TODAY staffer tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

“Got an empty studio once again,” Kotb said in the video as she found the only familiar face in the studio on the monitors in front of her desk showing Guthrie’s makeshift home studio.

“This guy on the camera here is Mike Feldman,” Kotb said. “That’s Savannah’s husband who’s the tech dude. Feldy!”

A day later during the Friday broadcast, all the chaos in the world seemed to get to Kotb, who broke down live on air after an interview with Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who announced the day prior he was making a $5 million donation to fight the coronavirus in Louisiana.

“I also think a lot of things are contagious, including generosity,” Kotb said at the close of her interview with Brees. “So our hope is that because you let us know you made this big, generous donation, and I think other people look and think, ‘Hey, maybe I can help out too.’”

Transitioning to the next segment, Kotb began to cry as she apologized repeatedly before Guthrie took over, reassuring her friend, “I know where your heart is my dear, I do.”

Photo credit: Getty / Raymond Hall