Chris Cuomo can't be with wife while both have coronavirus: 'It's frustrating'

CNN host Chris Cuomo and his wife both have the coronavirus, yet they are being quarantined separately in their home out of an "abundance of caution."

Cuomo, 49, spoke on CNN Thursday night about how his wife, Cristina, 50, has been faring since he shared on Wednesday that she tested positive for COVID-19 after she had been caring for him for more than two weeks while he battles the virus himself.

"This was tough for Cristina to get it, and it's frustrating because it once again plays on ... fact and fear,'' Cuomo said. "We have a lot of fear because we don't have a lot of facts.

"Last night we were celebrating how: 'Oh, it turns out that you're more contagious before you're symptomatic.' Same night, my wife gets hit with coronavirus, 17 days into my case. We have completely different symptoms, thank God."

Cuomo at least figured he would be with his wife as they both dealt with the illness after he had been isolated in the family's basement for more than two weeks.

"The one silver lining I thought would be that she and I could be together. No, why? Again, we don't know this BS about the antibodies and whether or not I'm immune,'' he said. "Whether it's (Dr.) Anthony Fauci or anyone on down who does this will tell you they don't know that I have any immunity even if I have the antibodies and how it works and how long it would be."

CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta asked Cuomo why the two needed to be separated if they both have it.

"Here's what they say. They don't know, and in the abundance of caution, I could get reinfected so they want us to stay separated,'' Cuomo said. "We do have completely different symptoms."

Cristina Cuomo has been experiencing a loss of her sense of smell and taste, sinus pressure, and lethargy, but no fever, according to her husband.

In the past 17 days, the CNN host has experienced symptoms like a persistent high fever, losing 13 pounds in three days, chipping a tooth because he was shivering so hard, enduring "scary" chest X-rays and even having a hallucination of his late father, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, who died five years ago.

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The two will remain quarantined separately until May, while their three children - Bella, 17, Mario, 14, and Carolina, 10 - help care for them.

"The only frustrating part is I can't be there for my kids right now in the way they need me as Chris is in isolation too still, no fever and feeling better," Cristina wrote on Instagram Thursday. "Bella, Mario and Carolina have grown up overnight."

"So my wife and I have to be separated for another two weeks, which means our house is dependent on a 17-year-old, my daughter, Bella, who's stepping up,'' Chris Cuomo said. "This is now 'Lord of the Flies' in my house. The kids are in control."

Cristina Cuomo also believes some of their children may have already had the coronavirus at the end of last year.

"The kids, now anecdotally Cristina believes that at least two of them have had it in the last few months,'' Chris Cuomo said. "Why, we don't know, but atypically long duration sinus, fever, lethargy. I think we're gonna learn that coronavirus has been in this country since like October."

Cuomo feels confident his wife will emerge healthy after her fight with the virus.

"She's stronger than I am,'' he said. "She has a stronger immune system, she's got a stronger constitution and stronger character."