Savannah Guthrie leaves ‘Today’ live broadcast early as Hoda Kotb remains absent

Savannah Guthrie fled from the “Today” show mid-broadcast Tuesday amid her co-anchor Hoda Kotb’s unexplained absence.

It was business as usual for Guthrie, 51, when she began hosting the NBC morning show at 7 a.m. ET, but she quickly sparked concern among viewers when she failed to return after a commercial break around 7:30.

“3rd Hour” co-host Sheinelle Jones, who was filling in for Kotb, then shared a health update about Guthrie right before 9 a.m. ET.

“It has been an interesting morning for us. As we said, Savannah left early. She wasn’t feeling great, so she took a COVID test, [and] it came back positive,” Jones, 44, explained alongside Al Roker and Carson Daly.

Jones emphasized that as soon as the test results came back, Guthrie “rushed home to rest up.”

“So, Savannah, we love you. Wishing you a speedy recovery,” she concluded.

This is Guthrie’s third time battling COVID-19, having previously contracted the virus in January 2022 and May 2022.

She did not share any updates on social media Tuesday, as she gave up Instagram for Lent.

The “Today” hosts did not elaborate on when Guthrie will return or who will take her place while she is gone.

Guthrie’s illness has resulted in the show now missing both of its main anchors.

Kotb, 58, has been off the air from both “Today” and “Today with Hoda and Jenna” for more than a week.

Her last live show was on Friday, Feb. 17.

Neither Kotb nor NBC has addressed her absence, but fans have been expressing their concern for her unusually long time off — especially since Kotb has been posting several inspirational quotes via Instagram over the last week.

While Kotb is out, Jones, Daly, 49, Willie Geist from “Sunday Today,” Tom Llamas of “World News Tonight” and “3rd Hour of Today” co-host Craig Melvin have all stepped up and filled in for her alongside Guthrie for the early show and Jenna Bush Hager for the fourth hour.

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