Jimmy Fallon Reveals COVID Diagnosis During 'Tonight Show' Break

It looks like COVID-19 was an unwelcome visitor for lots of families this holiday season. “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon revealed on Instagram that he was diagnosed with COVID-19 on the first day of the show’s holiday break.

“Hey guys, on the first day of our holiday break I tested positive for Covid,” Fallon says in the post. “I was vaccinated and boostered which made me lucky enough to only have mild symptoms. Thank you to the doctors and nurses who work so hard around the clock to get everyone vaxxed.”

Fallon credits NBC with following the testing protocols to ensure health and safety on “The Tonight Show.”

“Thank you to NBC for taking the testing protocols so seriously and doing a great job - and also thanks for putting me in the ‘What ‘chu talkin’ about Willis?’ isolation room when they told me the news,” he wrote. He is pictured in a small conference room with “What ‘chu talkin’ about Willis?” etched in the glass, a nod to Gary Coleman’s iconic catchphrase from “Diff’rent Strokes.”

Not surprisingly, as soon as Fallon’s post hit Instagram his famous friends started sending him well wishes and messages of support.

“Feel better soon Brotha Jimmy,” Morris Day posted.

“Feel better soon!” Debbie Gibson wrote. “We all love you. I mean, like EVERYBODY!!!”

From Jewel: “Glad your [sic] feeling ok!!”

Jill Martin also sent well wishes, and she noted that she also has affection for the conference room. “Feel better!!! But so hysterical. I laugh every time I walk by that room.”

The comments section was full of people who could totally relate to Fallon’s predicament, with lots of comments about how they, too, contracted COVID-19 during the holiday break.

Earlier in the day, “The View” announced that Whoopi Goldberg tested positive forCOVID-19. Co-host Joy Behar revealed that Goldberg was recovering at home. “Since she’s vaxxed and boosted, her symptoms have been very, very mild.” Monday’s episode was filmed remotely as a precaution.

In New York, several Broadway productions have paused or been forced to reschedule performances amid the alarming increase in breakthrough cases as well as positive tests among cast members. The revival of “The Music Man” was forced to cancel several performances after star Hugh Jackman received a positive COVID diagnosis.

Fallon and his fellow late night hosts were forced to film from home for much of 2020 and deep  into 2021. Even when crews returned to the studio, testing protocols remained in place to ensure a safe working environment. As Fallon notes, those protocols remain in place today, with procedures in place to handle positive tests that are a result of trial and error from the past two years. Many late night talk shows have allowed audiences to return in a limited capacity with strict requirements about masking and vaccination status.

As case rates continue to climb, it’s more than likely that more shows will be impacted by positive COVID tests in the near future.

Fallon made a full recovery over the holiday break and is back in the studio for Monday’s show featuring guests Anthony Anderson, Adam Devine and Carly Pearce.