MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle says she's recovering from COVID-19: 'I am begging you, please take this seriously'

MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle is "begging" viewers to take the threat of COVID-19 seriously as she recovers from the coronavirus herself, saying she is "sick and scared."

The MSNBC anchor on Monday revealed that she tested positive for COVID-19, as did her husband and children, and has "spent the better part of the last two weeks in bed isolating." Ruhle said she's now "on the mend" and her family is "very lucky" to be getting better but noted that many Americans have not been as fortunate, as the United States' coronavirus death toll passes 280,000.

"There is so much more that I now know after having COVID myself," Ruhle said. "Most importantly, we don't have a vaccine today. We have a virus that is ravaging our country, and we need to do a whole lot more to stop it. And as a person who is sick and scared, I am begging you, please take this seriously. It is not over."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

This plea came after MSNBC's Rachel Maddow emotionally revealed that her partner tested positive for COVID-19, saying they feared "it might kill her" and telling viewers they must "do whatever you can to keep from getting it."

Ruhle offered further reflections on her experience with the coronavirus in an opinion piece for NBC News on Monday, writing that although Americans are "told to do the right thing" to prevent the spread of COVID-19, "what I have learned is that the 'right thing' gets easier the more privileged you are." She added, "The only way we can get through this is if we have a system that works for everyone, and after having COVID-19, I'm convinced that we do not." Brendan Morrow