Savannah Guthrie was so excited to end on-air social distancing on the Today show on Friday that she quite literally jumped for joy – right into co-anchor Hoda Kotb’s lap.
The TV hosts marked the CDC‘s relaxed social distancing and face mask guidelines for fully-vaccinated Americans on Friday morning by displaying their first physical display of affection in more than 15 months, with Savannah, 49, perching herself in 56-year-old Hoda’s lap, while joking: ‘Are we a little too excited?’
She continued: ‘We’re two vaccinated people! Does the CDC say anything about me sitting in your lap?
‘By the way, I hope you’ve been doing your squats cause I’m not a light load for you.’
Sharing the video of the touching moment on Instagram, Savannah added: ‘We are a *tad* excited to be close again.’
Together again! Savannah Guthrie celebrated the CDC’s ditching of face masks and social distancing for fully-vaccinated Americans by leaping into Hoda Kotb’s lap on the Today show
‘We’re a tad excited!’ The co-anchors have had to sit six feet apart for the last 15 months, and Hoda, 56, noted that it ‘feels really, really good’ to be able to get close to Savannah, 49, again
Meanwhile, her co-host urged the show’s producers to ‘get rid of this big desk’ – which was installed in NBC’s Studio 1A in order to allow the anchors to maintain six feet of social distance between them while on-air, a rule that they have had to follow for 15 months.
But on Friday, the two anchors came together, literally, to celebrate the CDC’s easing of social distancing and mask guidance, edging their chairs together for the first time in more than a year.
‘How long have we been waiting for this moment?’ Savannah asked Hoda, while holding onto her hand, and noting that they have been sitting ‘six feet apart for about 15 months’.
Hoda then complimented Savannah on her ‘minty fresh breath’, prompting her co-host to joke: ‘Well I started using breath mints again and put lipstick on because we don’t need masks anymore!’
Both Hoda and Savannah revealed on Instagram that they had received their second dose of the COVID vaccine on April 28 – with Savannah actually getting her first shot of the Pfizer jab live on-air on the Today show on April 7, alongside co-stars Craig Melvin, Sheinelle Jones, Dylan Dreyer and Jenna Bush Hager.
The CDC considers people to be fully-vaccinated ‘two weeks after their second dose in a two-does series’, meaning that Savannah and Hoda fell into this group as of Wednesday this week.
However the hosts’ celebration may have been a little preemptive, given that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has insisted that he is not ready to ditch masks in the state – going against the advice issued by the CDC and President Joe Biden just hours earlier.
Getting close: Savannah and Hoda brought their chairs back together for the first time in more than a year, with the latter urging producers to ditch their ‘big’ desk once and for all
Taking precautions! Hoda also complimented her co-anchor on her ‘minty fresh breath’, prompting Savannah to joke that she has ‘started using breath mints again’
The way we were: When the Today anchors (seen in January) returned to in-person broadcasting last year, they were forced to maintain six feet of social distance at all times
Starting a trend: Hoda was the first anchor to return to the Today studio, while Savannah spent time broadcasting from her home in upstate New York throughout much of the pandemic
The federal health agency announced on Thursday afternoon that fully vaccinated Americans do not have to wear masks outdoors in most indoor settings, aside from crowded places such as buses and planes.
The White House followed suit, lifting its mandate that requires masks to be worn on its grounds with President Joe Biden praising the new guidance as a ‘great milestone’ and a ‘great day for America’ in a press conference.
But the CDC’s recommendation is just that – an unenforceable recommendation – meaning that states and businesses are not required to lift their mask order.
Cuomo said the state was not lifting its mask mandate yet saying officials ‘relied on the facts and the science’ to make health-based decisions.
‘In New York, we have always relied on the facts and the science to guide us throughout the worst of this pandemic and in our successful reopening,’ Cuomo said.
It isn’t clear what ‘science’ Cuomo is relying on that would counter the CDC’s own.
He said that he and the state’s health commissioner, Howard Zucker, were still assessing the new guidance.
‘We have received the newly revised guidance from the CDC regarding mask wearing and social distancing for those with vaccinations and are reviewing them in consultation with Dr. Zucker and our partners and health experts in surrounding states,’ Cuomo said.
He didn’t say when the state might update its guidance.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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