Alyssa Farah Griffin was notably missing from The View on Wednesday, March 22. Moderator Whoopi Goldberg started off the daytime talk show by addressing the reason the conservative co-host was not on the “Hot Topics” table.
“Hello and welcome to The View. Alyssa is not here because, unfortunately, she has Covid. Yeah, it’s still around,” Goldberg said at the top of the show.
Co-host Sunny Hostin took the chair usually occupied by Griffin and Sarah Haines joked that the former prosecutor was the new conservative co-host.
Goldberg then added, “So, feel better and tune in tomorrow when U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy gives us the latest on the Covid crisis and other healthcare issues. We’ve got some questions.”
Aside from her co-hosting duties on The View, Griffin is also a contributor on CNN.
The hosts of The View regularly get tested for Covid and back in November 2022 Ana Navarro and Goldberg tested positive for the virus. Navarro got “stuck” quarantining in an NYC hotel days before Thanksgiving Day.
After battling Covid for a second time, Goldberg detailed her experience calling it a “rough one” and adding, “You can get boosted within an inch of your life and then the next thing you know you got Covid again. But I don’t have it now and that’s why I’m back at the table.”
The View had been taking extra precautions on the show having audience members wear masks. Earlier this year, production relaxed the Covid protocols and dropped the mask mandates for live in-studio audiences.
The current lineup of the daytime talk show includes Goldberg, Joy Behar, Hostin, Griffin, Haines and Navarro that makes appearances twice a week.