George Stephanopoulos tests positive for coronavirus after wife’s diagnosis

ABC News host George Stephanopoulos on Monday said that he’s tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. 

Stephanopoulos, who hosts “Good Morning America” and “This Week,” announced his diagnosis on ABC about two weeks after his wife, Ali Wentworth, tested positive for the virus. Speaking remotely from his home, Stephanopoulos said that he was not surprised to learn he had contracted the coronavirus.

But he said he’s yet to feel any symptoms and emphasized that his case exemplified how asymptomatic people can carry the virus. 

“I feel great,” Stephanopoulos said. “I’ve never had a fever, never had a cough, never had shortness of breath, never had chills, never had the classic symptoms.”

The U.S. had reported more than 557,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and roughly 22,100 deaths caused by it as of Monday morning, according to a Johns Hopkins University database.

Wentworth shared on Instagram on April 1 that she had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. In the post, she said she would self-isolate from her family, which included Stephanopoulos and their two children. Stephanopoulos said that her condition has gradually improved since her diagnosis. 

Stephanopoulos, 59, did not address how the infection would impact his duties as an ABC broadcaster. 

Stephanopoulos was a White House communications director and senior adviser for policy and strategy for President Clinton. He joined ABC News as a political analyst after Clinton’s first term.

Well-wishes came in on social media for a speedy recovery on Monday morning following Stephanopoulos’s announcement.

Stephanopoulos’s announcement came about a week after the network announced that a “Good Morning America” cameraman died from complications related to the novel coronavirus. Co-host Robin Roberts said on the program last week that Tony Greer died shortly after testing positive for the virus, calling him a “bright light” and “beautiful spirit.”

ABC’s “Good Morning America” studio is located in New York City, which has emerged as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. Nearly 6,900 people have died from the virus in the New York metropolitan area alone. 

Joe Concha contributed to this report, which was updated at 10:20 a.m.