COVID-19 Scare At ABC Studios
Australia’s favourite gay weather man Nate Byrne on Wednesday evening announced that he is in self-isolation at home following a COVID-19 scare at the ABC studios in Melbourne. Byrne’s colleagues at News Breakfast, Lisa Millar and Michael Rowland, will also be self isolating after the wife of a crew member tested positive for COVID-19.
News: @LisaMillar, @mjrowland68 & I will be self-isolating at home – our fab floor manager may have been exposed to coronavirus, so we're being extra-cautious. @benknight38, @Mad_Morris & @georgie_tunny will take the @BreakfastNews reins. Expect cameos. 😁 Stay safe, all. x ❤️
— Nate Byrne (@SciNate) July 29, 2020
“Our News Breakfast floor manager found out this afternoon that his wife has tested positive for COVID-19. He has now been tested as well and, while we wait for his results, ABC management has decided the team that works closely with him should not come into work,” the ABC News communication team said in a statement.
“Madeleine Morris, Ben Knight and Georgie Tunny will present News Breakfast from tomorrow (Thursday) while our usual team of Lisa Millar, Michael Rowland and Nate Byrne self-isolate for a few days,” the statement said.
The News Breakfast show is filmed in Melbourne, which is currently in the grip of a second wave of COVID-19 infections. On Wednesday, Victoria recorded 295 cases and nine deaths, with round 4,839 active cases in the state.
The network said that, “Every health precaution is being taken at the ABC’s Southbank premises, including deep cleaning.”
Byrne said he would be self-isolating at home, but has promised a few “cameos” on the show. “I’ll still be up at 3am to make sure that Georgie is all over it,” Byrne posted on Facebook.
Melbourne-based Byrne, a meteorologist, Royal Australian Navy Lieutenant and self-confessed science nerd, had joined the News Breakfast show as the weather presenter in March 2017. Besides his weather reports, Byrne’s sartorial choices soon made him a fashion icon, whether it was for his patterned shirts or his championing of the waist coat.
Byrne was part of ABC’s first ever Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras float, earlier this year. That appearance was marred when Byrne received homophobic messages on social media.
“Mail’s in. It IS a sick world we live in – one where this kind of unprovoked spray of hatred is still on the cards. This is why we march,” Byrne posted along with a screenshot of the DM that he received.
Mail's in.
It IS a sick world we live in – one where this kind of unprovoked spray of hatred is still on the cards.
This is why we march.@sydneymardigras @BreakfastNews #ABCPride pic.twitter.com/vA3PXfb2gW
— Nate Byrne (@SciNate) March 1, 2020
His colleagues on the breakfast show spoke out in support saying they were proud of Byrne and other LGBTQI team members at ABC. Rowland asked homophobes to “go back under their rocks this morning.”
