MSNBC’s political commentator Rachel Maddow is still in quarantine after she had close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19, and she’s also still not filming.
The 47-year-old presenter of The Rachel Maddow show has been off the air since November 7. She stresses that she has, so far, tested negative for COVID-19 but that she is taking all the proper precautions.
The quarantine came at a difficult time for a political commentator, just as the results of the election were still coming in on November 7, and the ballot controversy is still not completely resolved.
The Rachel Maddow show has continued without its host, with various members of the MSNBC team filling in for her.
She has remained very active on social media, where she has continued to tweet about various political news stories, but she’s not yet given us a date as to when she’ll return to our screens.
Fans are wondering when Rachel Maddow will return
Maddow has received a ton of good wishes from her many fans, but some are clearly getting impatient with her absence from the show. One fan asked on Twitter how long has she been quarantining, “It feels like 4 months,” they added.
Special Olympics athlete and anti-bullying advocate Derek “Tank” Schottle tweeted Maddow on Monday night and told her that he was thinking of her while she quarantined. A mere thirteen minutes later, Rachel had responded with a message of thanks and an update on how she’s doing.
She wrote: “Thank you, Tank! I really appreciate your kind words. Quarantine is no fun, but I’m trying to do my part to make sure I keep everyone around me safe.”
She then added: “Congratulations on your Special Olympics success, Tank — I look forward to seeing everything you’ll do in the future! Stay safe!”
In the meantime, MSNBC’s Ali Velshi took to Twitter to say he’d be filling in for Maddow once again. He stressed to Maddow’s fans that it’s still her show with the same team that Rachel always uses. He reiterated: “But it’s her show – I’m just going to be speaking the words & asking the questions. Same team & same news.”
When will Rachel Maddow be back on air?
Rachel hasn’t yet said when she will return. Ten days ago, she said she “will be at home quarantining ’til it’s safe for me to be back at work without putting anyone at risk.”
However, New York state guidelines suggest that people should quarantine for 14 days. This means that so long as Rachel doesn’t start exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, she should be able to return to work as early as Friday, November 20, but perhaps, Monday, November 23 is more likely.
Rachel Maddow has long been associated with the American political left and is a long-term critic of outgoing President Trump, who she once claimed could “bring about the death of the Republic.” She has also been a vocal critic of the Republican party’s health care policies.
The Rachel Maddow Show airs weeknights at 9/8c on MSNBC.