The View 's Sunny Hostin Reveals Both of Her In-Laws Died from COVID Within 3 Days of Each Other
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The View/YouTube Sunny Hostin
Sunny Hostin is mourning the loss of her in-laws, who both died from COVID-19 over the holidays.
During Friday's episode of The View, Hostin, 52, revealed that her husband's mother and father both passed away within three days of each other due to the novel coronavirus.
“Although I've chosen a very public career, as most of you know, those of you that know my husband, Manny, know that he is intensely private. But after speaking with him, he felt that from a public health standpoint that it was very important for me to share that we are deeply saddened that Manny lost both of his parents over the holidays," Hostin shared about her husband, Emmanuel Hostin, who is a surgeon.
"He lost his father on Dec. 28 and he lost his mother on New Year’s Day, both to COVID," an emotional Hostin continued.
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She said that her mother- and father-in-law — Dr. Maria Jesus and Dr. A. Emmanuel — "were both physicians and they were both very careful" and "didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving with us because we all decided that it wasn’t safe. And after a lot of contact tracing, we still don’t know how they contracted this virus and this disease."
She went on to thank the doctors and nurses "that gave them such incredible care."
Before their deaths, Hostin said they were able to FaceTime with her husband's parents "while they were passing away."
The TV host went on to remind viewers to take the global health crisis seriously: "COVID is very, very serious. It is not a joke, it is not a hoax."
Supporting her amid this tragic season is her family at ABC and The View, whom she thanked.
"Whoopi [Goldberg], for sending so much food for several weeks," said Hostin. "Ana [Navarro] for calling us and giving us all of the information that you gained when Al was battling this virus. Meghan [McCain] for distracting me with all of the pop culture news and sending us bourbon. Manny says the best condolence gift he's gotten so far. Joy [Behar] for your calls with your humor."
Shaun Mader/Patrick McMullan via Getty Sunny Hostin and husband Emmanuel Hostin
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"You guys really wrapped your love around us," said Hostin, "and we're so very thankful."
She continued by reminding audiences to be mindful of their actions amid the global pandemic in an effort to care for the health of others.
"COVID is devastating and while my kids and Manny's siblings, Helen and Carlos, we are in deep grief, we want everybody to know that you may think you're healthy and that you won't be impacted, but you could be an asymptomatic carrier, you could put someone you love at risk. So please, I beg of you, social distance, wear your mask, wash your hands. And if you get the opportunity to take this vaccine, take it," said Hostin, whose husband already had his first dose administered and will be taking the second dose.
The View/YouTube Sunny Hostin
Hostin also shared that she will be getting vaccinated.
"We can survive this together, but we must do this together," said Hostin, who wiped away tears.
As of Friday morning, more than 21.6 million Americans have tested positive for the virus since the beginning of 2020, according to a New York Times database. Another 365,495 people living in the United States have died from it in the same time span, with 4,112 of those deaths occurring on Jan. 7 alone.
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