Good Morning America anchor Ginger Zee revealed on Friday that she and both of her children have tested positive for COVID-19. She posted photos of their positive tests on Instagram and announced that she will be off air for a while to prevent spreading the virus to anyone else on the GMA staff. However, she told fans that she is “feeling tired and stuffy but ok.”
Zee’s post showed three at-home COVID-19 tests side by side on a countertop, each with a positive result. She wrote:” COVID cubed in the house. Me and the kids will be laying low. Everyone is feeling tired and stuffy but okay — I’ll be out for a bit to keep everyone safe. Hope you all stay healthy and safe.” Her post picked up over 17,000 likes and many comments — mostly well-wishes from friends, colleagues and fans who were sad to hear she is sick. Many assured her that she would be missed, but that she should take as much time off the air as she needs.
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“I hope you all feel better very soon and that it continues to be mild,” wrote author Dr. Whitney Bowe. NBC News meteorologist Dylan Dreyer added: “Oh no!! Feel better!! And good luck!” Meanwhile, fans left messages saying: “Hope y’all get better ASAP!” and “Feel better soon!” and so on.
According to the latest guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Zee and her children are advised to stay at home and isolate themselves from others for at least 5 days. They should not end this isolation period until they have gone at least 24 without a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medication. They are advised to continue isolating until they can perceive their symptoms subsiding. At that point, if they do go out they are advised to wear masks and minimize travel for at least five more days.
This means that fans won’t see Zee back on the air until at least Wednesday, or perhaps next week depending on how things go. In a case like this with multiple cases isolating together, some people will plan their isolation around the symptoms of the final person with a fever to break so that they can be sure they are not transmitting the virus in public.
Zee has been married to fellow reporter and talk show host Ben Aaron since 2015. Their first son was born in December 2015 and their second was born in February 2018, making them 6 and 4 years old respectively. At that age, it’s unlikely that both of the children are vaccinated, though cases among children are generally milder. Many fans are watching Zee’s Instagram for more updates and content from isolation.
