Dr. Sanjay Gupta to Chris Cuomo: Please Take a Day Off, Man

CNN's Chris Cuomo announced yesterday that he's batting COVID-19. He's quarantined in his basement where he continues to do his primetime show through some rather harrowing symptoms, which he described in detail Wednesday night.

"It was like somebody was beating me like a pinata," he said. "I was shivering so much, that Sanjay’s right, I chipped my tooth,” Cuomo added. “These are not cheap, OK? They call them the rigors, like rigors, r-i-g-o-r-s. But rigors. So the sun comes up. I was up all night. I tell you, I was hallucinating. My dad was talking to me.”

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, ever the voice of reason, stepped in and suggested what so many at home were likely suggesting: that maybe, just maybe, Cuomo should get some rest and forget about television for a bit.

"I know you’re a warrior, but you’re allowed to take a day off," Gupta said. "I was worried about that, but Chris, man, you know, we love you, we think about you, and it’s okay to, you know, I know you’re dreaming about this stuff, you’re fully engaged, but it’s okay to take a day off,”

Cuomo didn't dismiss the very rational idea out of hand, so that's at least something. We'll find out in about 13 hours if the governor's brother intends to continue plowing along in an attempt to become the coronavirus' Cal Ripken Jr.

With the important caveat that everyone is wishing the best for the CNN anchor, the combination of the familial connection to the story and now his condition have made him an extremely unique voice in all of this.

My two cents is that while it's always weird to see the Cuomo brothers in an interview because it's tough to sell objectivity, showing the public the face of this virus is undoubtably a good thing because some people can't internalize the threat until they can connect it with someone they know -- even through a television set.