#Sara Haines Absent from ‘The View’ After COVID Close Contact

Only a day after The View announced Whoopi Goldberg had tested positive for COVID-19, another co-host was absent from the desk on Tuesday, January 4. Yvette Nicole Brown filled in for co-host Sara Haines after coming in close contact with COVID.

Joy Behar announced the news at the start of the episode, telling viewers, “Sara was in close contact, so she’s not here. It’s like Agatha Christie, ‘And then there were three.’” Though Haines has not tested positive for the virus, Behar stated that she would be “laying low today.”

THIS MORNING: Our friend @YNB joins us LIVE to guest co-host! ✨ pic.twitter.com/BgL5rr50hJ

— The View (@TheView) January 4, 2022

Behar and Haines appeared virtually from home with co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro during Monday’s episode and discussed how the pandemic affected their holiday breaks. Navarro had a particularly rough break, as her mother passed away days before Christmas, and her father tested positive for COVID not long after, having to skip out on the holiday festivities.

Hostin revealed that both she and her mother tested positive for COVID just before Christmas and have since recovered, while Haines’ husband also caught the virus, though she has since remained negative.

HOW COVID HIT HOME OVER THE HOLIDAYS: @JoyVBehar, @sarahaines, @sunny Hostin, and @ananavarro share how COVID-19 and the omicron variant surge impacted their holidays. https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/ir7bIgvTTP

— The View (@TheView) January 4, 2022

The hosts and Brown appeared virtually again on Tuesday while Goldberg remains on a break until a likely return next week. No word on whether Haines will return for Wednesday’s show has been announced. This news comes as COVID numbers continue to rise in New York City and across the world due to the ever-growing Omicron variant.