‘This is going to get a lot worse’: Today hosts Allison Langdon and Karl Stefanovic are reduced to tears while reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic
Allison Langdon and Karl Stefanovic were reduced to tears while discussing the coronavirus pandemic on the Today show on Tuesday morning.
They were overcome with emotion after watching footage of an online choir singing The Carpenters’ classic hit (They Long to Be) Close to You.
The group was formed in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, which has made it almost impossible for choirs to congregate due to social distancing rules.
‘This is going to get a lot worse’: Allison Langdon and Karl Stefanovic were reduced to tears while discussing the coronavirus pandemic on the Today show on Tuesday morning
‘You just know that this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better,’ Alison said, fighting back tears.
‘I don’t know, I mean, I watched it last night and I cried. I thought I’d be alright today.’
Karl, who was also getting tearful, said: ‘You’re okay, you can cry. This is part of what we’re feeling as a society right now.’
‘This is part of what we’re feeling as a society right now’: Karl told Allison it was ‘okay’ to cry as he reached out to comfort her
‘And us as Australians, when I see that, I see all the faces, I see everyone going through the same thing… I just lost it.’
Karl and Allison were interviewing the founder of Pub Choir, Astrid Jorgensen, who had enlisted more than a thousand singers from across the globe to record Close to You from self-isolation in their own homes.
‘Thank you for that moment. Thank you for giving us the sense of community, and for giving us something to smile about,’ Karl told her.
Inspirational: Karl and Allison were interviewing the founder of Pub Choir, Astrid Jorgensen (pictured), who had enlisted more than a thousand singers from across the globe to record Close to You from self-isolation in their own homes
Amazing: Astrid pieced together over a thousand videos of people singing The Carpenters hit song Close To You together which their recorded while in self isolation in their own homes
It comes after the Today show was forced to quarantine 20 staff members earlier this month after Rita Wilson brought coronavirus to Nine’s Willoughby headquarters.
The breakfast show is now broadcasting from the Today Extra studios because the news desk allows the anchors to sit 1.5 metres apart in accordance with the government’s new rules on social distancing.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there are 1,894 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia and eight deaths.
Pandemic: As of Tuesday afternoon, there are 1,894 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia and eight deaths