Whoopi Goldberg is calling out sick from work.
“The View” co-host tested positive for COVID-19 and had to miss the talk show’s return from their holiday hiatus on Monday.
Goldberg, 66, sat out the first episode of 2022, while her co-hosts, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines and Ana Navarro, delivered the news of her illness via remote locations.
“Since she is vaxxed and boosted, her symptoms have been very, very mild,” said Behar, 79, on Twitter.
Behar added that the Oscar winner is expected to come back to the show next week, the first time Goldberg will have appeared since missing the Dec. 15 and 16 in-studio episodes due to COVID exposure. She again appeared on Dec. 17 for their pre-taped holiday special holiday, recorded before Goldberg began quarantine.
“Happy New Year from all of our living rooms,” Behar also said. “As you can see, we’re back in boxes and doing the show remotely, hopefully for just a week. I’m praying that it’s just a week, but you never know because this Omicron thing is all over the place.”
Navarro, 50, also revealed on the episode that her mother passed away on Dec. 14. “I’m heartbroken,” she said, adding that she saw a photo of her mom dressed as an angel recently that sparked something in her. “I took it as a sign that I have a guardian angel in heaven now.”
“The View” had been airing in-person at their New York City studio since September 2021. Vice President Kamala Harris was set to appear on the ABC show at the time the chaos ensued. The interview became remote once Hostin and Navarro were pulled from the set mid-show for testing positive for the COVID.
Executive producer Brian Teta told the pair to leave the set near the start of the hourlong talk show’s second segment, which was quickly cut short, due to their diagnosis.
Navarro described what happened shortly after she was rushed off the stage to Anderson Cooper: “All of a sudden, it turned into an episode of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ ” adding it was a “very awkward moment.”
“We were prepared to ask some tough questions. We were very proud to have the vice president come on ‘The View,’ ” she said.
