A TV news anchor mistakenly said a New Jersey man who recovered from the coronavirus had died on Tuesday.
New York’s Bill Ritter was highlighting a local story about Jack Allard, 26, who was placed in a medically induced coma after becoming ill with the virus.
“After spending time on a ventilator and five full weeks in the hospital, the governor announced that Jack has died,” Ritter said on WABC-TV’s nightly broadcast.
Immediately after Ritter told the story of Allard, a two-time All American lacrosse player, the station played a clip of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy saying, “It was a long month, but slowly Jack rebounded. Last Thursday he was clapped out by the doctors and nurses who saved his life.”
As soon as Murphy’s audio ended, Ritter realized Allard was very much alive and backtracked his comments.
“I feel horrible. Jack is very much alive. Jack, we love you,” the anchor remarked.
Ritter continued, “Jack is alive and back home. He has come home, not in the figurative sense, but in the quite literal sense.”
“My deepest apologies for that; I was just … misread everything and I apologize but he is alive and we are grateful for that.”
