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Ellen DeGeneres tests positive for COVID-19, the performances for the year
Ellen DeGeneres is the latest big name to test positive for COVID-19. Her TV show stopped production until January.
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Ellen DeGeneres was backstage at ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ when she learned that she tested positive for COVID-19, she revealed in her first episode on Wednesday after contracting the virus last month.
“Obviously there are a lot of negative things going on, so I wanted to talk about something positive: my COVID test,” DeGeneres said in a clip from the episode, addressing a virtual audience that would originally attend the show in which she canceled. December after receiving a positive test.
DeGeneres, 62, was behind the stage in hair and makeup when her assistant walked in and told her she had tested positive for the new coronavirus.
“And then everyone around me ran away. It’s funny, people just get really scared. They ran and some have not come back since,” she joked, adding that she ‘immediately left the studio’ and the security team of the program reached everyone she was in contact with.
Many of the program’s recent guests made virtual appearances, though a handful joined DeGeneres in the studio in December before testing positive, including Leslie Odom, Jr. on December 9, Bryan Cranston on December 4, Diane Keaton on December 3, Lil Nas X on December 2 and Justin Bieber on December 1.
The comedian returned home in quarantine, where her wife, actress Portia de Rossi, told her to sleep in a separate room “because she wanted the race car bed for herself.” DeGeneres slept 16 hours each for the first three days due to the virus and needed painkillers, muscle relaxants and steroids after waking up one morning with spasms in her back – the comedian said she did not know that back pain was a symptom of COVID – 19 was not, but spoke to several others who had endured similar experiences.
“It felt like I had cracked a rib,” she recalls. ‘You know how I make you laugh so hard your ribs hurt. That was how it was for me. Now I know how you feel. ‘
She did not experience any other symptoms commonly associated with the virus, such as fever, headache or loss of taste, although she ‘wore Crocs with socks for a day, so you have to be the judge.’ She is ‘completely clear’ and now feels ‘good’.
“The strange thing is that I still do not know where I got it,” she said. “I wear a mask, I washed my hands, I only licked three or four door handles, so it’s a mystery how that would happen. … I know a lot of people out there struggle with this disease. My heart goes out “As always, I hope the program will give you joy (and) brighten your day.”
Previously: Ellen DeGeneres tests positive for COVID-19 and says she ‘feels good now’
DeGeneres, 62, announced Dec. 10 that she had tested positive for the new coronavirus, but that she was “feeling well now.” Meanwhile, a spokesman for Telepictures confirmed to the USA TODAY that production on ‘Ellen’ will be suspended until January.
The television host said in a tweet at the time that “everyone who was in close contact with me has been notified, and that I follow all proper CDC guidelines.”
COVID-19 cases are still on the rise in the United States, which saw more than 4,000 new cases for the second day in a row on Tuesday. According to Johns Hopkins, the U.S. has seen a total of more than 22.8 million cases of coronavirus and 380,821 deaths as of Wednesday morning. LA County, where “Ellen” tires are, is still seeing positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths upward, according to the county’s health department.
DeGeneres returned to the Burbank, California studio, while many productions in Los Angeles closed and other late-night shows such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “The Late Late Show with James Corden” returns to the recording of the host’s homes.
In October, ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ became one of the first television productions to invite a limited number of members into the studio since the coronavirus forced widespread closures in the entertainment industry. Beginning Oct. 28, 40 fans personally attended the “Ellen” recording, while 70 remained more virtual. The studio usually has about 300 audience members.
More: Ellen DeGeneres feels ‘100%’ after testing positive for COVID-19 despite ‘bad’ back pain
And: People’s Choice Awards: Ellen DeGeneres wins best talk show, thanks fans for ‘staying with me’