‘Waiting this virus out.’ Local 10 anchor Jacey Birch just tested positive for COVID
If you don’t see Local 10’s Jacey Birch on your TV set for the next couple of days, know that she is not on vacation.
The WPLG morning anchor is taking time off to quarantine after testing positive for coronavirus, Birch wrote on Instagram Friday morning. She posted a picture with her 4-year-old son and said the unfortunate news came Thursday.
“I am feeling great and experiencing no symptoms,” said the post. “Jupiter is also feeling fine and we are very lucky to be doing so well. We will be quarantining and waiting this virus out. I will be missing all of you along with my Local 10 family while I isolate. Jupiter and I are praying for everyone suffering during this pandemic. We love you all.”
The Miami native, 41, did not specify where she may have caught the virus.
Birch is not the only staffer at the station to come down with COVID.
WPLG news director Bill Pohovey told the Miami Herald on Friday that there are a few other few “behind the scenes” folks who have tested positive in recent weeks.
“For a month now we’ve had our anchors separated in different studios so they don’t sit next to one another,” he said, adding that the weather and sports staffers work from home.
As for Birch, Pohovey said “she was very isolated in the building and social-distanced so no other employees came in contact with her recently.”
The health-conscious reporter is symptom free, the newsman added: “She had a little cough the first day and that’s why she got a test.”
Over the summer, several of Birch’s colleagues came down with COVID-19.
The station’s chief meteorologist Betty Davis was severely ill and had to be hospitalized. Anchor Nicole Perez and her reporter husband Roy Ramos also were sick. Colleague Louis Aguirre also contracted coronavirus, but luckily had few to no symptoms. All have recovered and are back at work.
On its website, the station reminded viewers to stay safe and take precautions to guard against contracting COVID-19 as vaccines are gradually rolled out: “We urge the community to continue heeding advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other medical experts by practicing social distancing, washing your hands frequently and avoiding large gatherings.”
