Ellen DeGeneres returned to television on Wednesday, and used the opener to discuss how she discovered the had COVID (on-set) and how everyone reacted (running away).
DeGeneres said: “Alright this is what happened you guys. I was getting ready to tape the show, and I was in hair and makeup, getting my face powdered and my extensions put in, and then my assistant, Craig, walks in and said, ‘You’ve tested positive for COVID,'” DeGeneres said. “And then everyone around me ran away. It’s funny, people just really get scared and they ran. Some have not come back since. So anyway, I left the studio immediately and our COVID safety team informed everyone I had been in contact with. They told executive producer Andy Lassner and he ran at full speed off the lot.”
“I went home, obviously; I had to to quarantine,” she continued. “Portia de Rossi made me sleep in a different room on a different bed because she wanted the race car bed all to herself. The first three days, I slept for 16 hours a day. And then on the fourth day, I woke up with back spasms. It just persisted and the doctor put me on pain pills and muscle relaxers.”
She said the “pain killers did not help” and that it “felt like I cracked a rib.” She was then given a steroid pack from doctors, which she said helped ease the discomfort.
“That's the only symptom I had,” she said of her back pain. “I didn't have a headache, I didn't have a fever, I didn't lose my sense of taste. I started to feel better and I am very fortunate and very, very blessed. That was it for me.”
She announced her diagnosis on Twitter December 10th, writing: “Hi Everyone, I want to let you all know that I tested positive for Covid-19. Fortunately, I’m feeling fine right now. Anyone who has been in close contact with me has been notified, and I am following all proper CDC guidelines.”