CNN reporter Sara Sidner broke down in tears during a live feed today, overcome by emotion as she reported on a Los Angeles family grieving the loss of a mother and stepfather due to Covid-19.
“This is the 10th hospital that I have been in,” Sidner said before pausing to collect herself, apologizing to CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota. “This is the 10th hospital that I have been in and to see the way that these families have to live after this, and the heartache that goes so far and so wide…”
Sidner’s report, on the terrible toll taken by Covid in Black and Latino communities, spotlighted South L.A. resident Juliana Jimenez Sesma, whose mother and stepfather recently passed away during an 11-day span. The mother’s funeral was being held in a parking lot due to pandemic restrictions.
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“It’s just not ok what we’re doing to each other,” a tearful Sidner said. “These families should not be going through this, no family should be going through this.”
Camerota repeatedly assured Sidner that no apologies were necessary, telling the correspondent that colleagues and viewers “appreciate your heart and excellent reporting.” The anchor added that Covid is “a collective trauma that all of us are living through.”
Watch the segment above.