Seth Meyers tests positive for COVID, cancels shows for the rest of the week: 'The good news is I feel fine'
In recent weeks, the NBC family has been plagued by a slew of stars testing positive for COVID, and now it’s unfortunately adding another to the list.
In a short post on Twitter, Seth Meyers announced that he contracted the virus but is only feeling mild symptoms thanks to his vaccine and booster shots.
The bad news is, I tested positive for COVID (thanks, 2022!) the good news is, I feel fine (thanks vaccines and booster!) We are canceling the rest of the shows this week, so tune in next Monday to see what cool location we will try and pass off as a studio!!!
— Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) January 4, 2022
“The bad news is, I tested positive for COVID (thanks, 2022!) the good news is, I feel fine (thanks vaccines and booster!),” the Late Night with Seth Meyers host wrote. “We are canceling the rest of the shows this week, so tune in next Monday to see what cool location we will try and pass off as a studio!!!”
NBC Universal declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Meyers isn’t the only NBC star to have tested positive this week.
On Monday, host Jimmy Fallon, 47, revealed his positive test result, adding that, like Meyers, he has experienced mild symptoms because he’d been fully vaccinated.
"Hey guys, on the first day of our holiday break I tested positive for Covid. I was vaccinated and boostered which made me lucky enough to only have mild symptoms," the Tonight Show host wrote.
"Thank you to the doctors and nurses who work so hard around the clock to get everyone vaxxed," he continued. "Thank you to NBC for taking the testing protocols so seriously and doing a great job - and also thanks for putting me in the 'What 'chu talkin' about Willis?' isolation room when they told me the news."
Last month, for the first time in Saturday Night Live’s history, producers scrapped their plans for a live taping and sent most cast members home just hours before air time.
Instead, SNL aired with only a limited cast and crew, no live audience and prepped sketches. According to NBC, the show was produced remotely to help curb the spread of the virus.
"Due to the recent spike in the Omicron variant and out of an abundance of caution, there will be no live audience for tonight’s taping of 'Saturday Night Live’ and the show will have limited cast and crew,” the show said in a statement on Twitter at the time. "The show continues to follow all government safety guidelines in addition to a rigorous testing protocol."
Due to the recent spike in the Omicron variant and out of an abundance of caution, there will be no live audience for tonight’s taping of “Saturday Night Live” and the show will have limited cast and crew.
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) December 18, 2021
Shortly after that announcement, previously booked musical guest Charli XCX announced she was pulling out, citing the limited crew.
"I am devastated and heartbroken," the singer wrote in a statement shared on Twitter. "It can't happen this time but I'll be back! I am currently safe and healthy but of course very sad."
As for Meyers, the comedian has never shied away from encouraging more Americans to get the vaccine while also using his platform to curb vaccine misinformation in general.
In fact, on Monday the host criticized Marco Rubio’s recent tweet dismissing the Omicron variant, which has seen a huge surge in the last month, with nearly one in 100 Americans testing positive for the variant in the last week, according to USA Today.
"Record numbers testing positive for a sore throat isn’t a crisis and people in the hospital for car accidents testing positive isn’t a surge," Rubio tweeted on Dec. 31. "The real crisis is the irrational hysteria which has people with no symptoms waiting hours for a test or missing work for 10 days."
Meyers hit back at Rubio’s claim by reminding viewers of the senator’s previous poor attendance record in Congress, saying it was “one of the few true facts” he’d learned from former President Donald Trump, who as Meyers explained, brought it up during one of the 2016 debates.
The comedian later suggested that a “far better message” for Rubio to push would be that people are only experiencing mild symptoms because they are fully vaccinated and/or boosted.