‘The View’: Sunny Hostin & Ana Navarro Exit Stage After Testing Positive For Covid-19; VP Kamala Harris Interviewed Remotely

SECOND UPDATE, 6:32 PM ET: Ana Navarro appeared on AC360 with Anderson Cooper that she tested negative twice since an initial positive test that forced her and co-host Sunny Hostin to be asked to leave the set of The View before a planned appearance by Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Both have come back false positive for me,” Navarro said, adding that she could not speak for Hostin for privacy reasons. CNN later reported that her subsequent tests also came back negative,

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Navarro said that they were very excited to have Harris on the show “and all of the sudden it turned into like an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

She said that she and Sunny Hostin were told while they were on the air that they tested positive, as executive producer Brian Teta informed them in their earpieces. They then went to their dressing rooms to wait for their subsequent test results. Navarro said that she was awaiting another result.

UPDATE, with video A bit of drama played out on The View on Friday, as co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro exited the stage just as Vice President Kamala Harris was waiting to come on the show in what was billed as her first in-studio appearance on a talk show since taking office.

“Sunny and Ana apparently tested positive for Covid. No matter how hard we try these things happen. They probably have a breakthrough case. They will be OK I am sure because they are both vaccinated,” said co-host Joy Behar amid the confusion.

To stall for time as the show amended plans to interview the VP in person – Harris eventually was interviewed remotely from another, isolated spot in the studio – co-hosts Behar and Sara Haines took questions from the audience. At one point an audience member asked what was going through their minds at the moment, and Haines replied with a laugh, “What. The. Heck.” Behar said her adrenaline was flowing, but that both she and Haines had experience in responding to changing circumstances on stage, Behar as a stand-up comic and Haines as a game show host.

After some verbal tap-dancing, Behar, serving in her usual Friday spot as moderator, welcomed Harris to the show via a remote split-screen. Said Harris, “Sunny and Ana are strong women and I know they’re fine, but it really also does speak to the fact that they are vaccinated and vaccines make all the difference, otherwise we would be concerned about hospitalizations.”

Watch the full Harris interview below.

Harris also addressed the withdrawal from Afghanistan. “The president has been clear and the American public agreed that it was time to end that 20-year war.” She did not address, however, why the situation was so chaotic.

She said that the treatment of Haitian migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border was “horrible” and “deeply troubling.” “There is now an investigation being conducted, which I fully support, and there needs to be consequence and accountability.”

Hostin and Navarro both were at the table for the Hot Topics segment when they left the stage. Behar then began to introduce Harris, thinking that the vice president was ready to come on stage. But Behar was stopped, with a producer explaining that a decision was being made about Harris’ appearance. Behar later said the Secret Service was working with the show to determine precautions.

It was not immediately clear why Hostin and Navarro did not get the results before the show began its taping. A spokesperson for the show did not immediately return a request for comment.

The drama started when the show returned from a commercial break, and Behar signaled that something was going on. “Can someone please apprise me of the situation?” A voice from off camera then asked Hostin and Navarro to step away. Behar then started to introduce Harris before being asked from off stage to halt the introduction.

The show then went to another break before Behar explained Hostin and Navarro’s exit.

Greg Evans contributed to this report

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