Friday’s episode of “The View” was a stark reminder that, despite the events of this week, we are still in the midst of a deadly pandemic that is very much not under control.
Co-host Sunny Hostin addressed viewers in an emotional segment where she revealed she lost both of her husband’s parents to the coronavirus over the holidays.
“After speaking with [my husband], he felt that from a public health standpoint it was very important for me to share that we are deeply saddened that Manny lost both of his parents over the holidays,” Hostin, who was visibly attempting to keep back tears, said. “He lost his father on Dec. 28 and he lost his mother on New Year’s Day, both to COVID.
“They were both physicians and they were both very careful. They didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving with us because we all decided it wasn’t safe,” she added. “And after a lot of contact tracing, we still don’t know how they contracted this virus.”
Hostin, 52, went on to thank the healthcare workers who cared for her in-laws, saying “they were doing God’s work” by letting her and Manny FaceTime with his parents as they passed away.
“COVID is very, very serious,” she said. “It is not a joke, it is not a hoax.”
After thanking her “View” co-hosts for their support — among them, Whoopi Goldberg sent food and Meghan McCain sent bourbon — Hostin closed by saying, “We want everyone to know that you may think you’re healthy and you won’t be impacted, but you may be an asymptomatic carrier. You could put someone you love at risk.
“So please, I beg of you, social distance, wear your mask, wash your hands, and if you get the opportunity to take this vaccine, take it.”
The U.S. set a bleak new record this week, as single-day death tolls crept steadily towards 4,000 — and then passed that milestone Thursday, in the deadliest day of the pandemic in the US so far.
The nation has seen more than 21,500,00 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 364,500 deaths as of Thursday night, according to John Hopkins University.