Fitzy and Wippa are in self-isolation and undergoing tests for COVID-19

Nova FM radio presenters Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald and Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli are in self-isolation just days after interviewing Weekend Today host Richard Wilkins, who tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday.

The Sydney breakfast duo didn’t go to work on Monday pending the results of their COVID-19 tests and were replaced by evening presenter Kent ‘Smallzy’ Small.

Fitzy and Wippa underwent testing on Sunday night as a precaution because Richard – who has yet to show any symptoms despite his diagnosis – had appeared on their show as a guest on Thursday.

Wippa called in from home to praise Richard for ‘doing the right thing’ by immediately self-isolating the moment he discovered he may have been exposed to coronovirus.

The Channel Nine star had briefly met singer Rita Wilson backstage at her Sydney Opera House concert on March 7. 

Rita and her husband, actor Tom Hanks, tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. As soon as the couple announced their diagnosis, Richard went into self-isolation.  

‘I feel for Dickie, he did the right thing. Obviously, he came into contact with Tom Hanks’ wife and when the news came through that that was the case, he did the right thing and he self isolated,’ Wippa said. 

‘I feel for the big guy, he was caught out. He obviously doesn’t want the knock-on or flow-on effect of where everybody stands right now.’

Wippa explained that the Nova FM team had met on Sunday ‘at a special clinic’ at the Royal North Shore Hospital, where staff were tested for coronavirus. 

‘We don’t want to be caught out like poor Dickie was. It’s important that we make sure we do the right thing and cover ourselves,’ he said.

Richard also called in from his home on Sydney’s North Shore, saying he ‘felt bad’ that he may have passed the virus on to Fitzy and Wippa. 

‘On Thursday morning, I was in there in that studio talking to our good friends Fitzy and Wippa and it’s so… I just feel so bad, it’s no one’s fault, I don’t even know if it was Rita, you don’t know,’ he said.

Richard said he was shocked when he got a call from NSW Health on Sunday night informing him that he’d tested positive for coronavirus.

‘I’ve never felt better, it’s absolutely bizarre to find myself with this thing we’ve all been talking about, we’ve been covering,’ he said.

‘I caught up with Rita Wilson a week ago when she played at the Opera House, I popped in there, spoke for no more than 90 seconds, two minutes. “Great show,” you know how it is, posted a selfie [on Instagram].

‘Of course, on Thursday, when the news came out that she and her husband Tom Hanks had tested positive, it was a bit of a trip-out in there at Channel Nine. We didn’t know what to do. 

‘So those of us who had contact with her went and got tested, seemed the responsible thing to do – even though I thought there was zero chance.’

Wippa compared the coronavirus clinic at the Royal North Shore Hospital to a high school exam room.

‘When you walk in there, there’s a sense of nervousness like Outbreak, the movie,’ he said. ‘It’s almost like a school exam, all the chairs are a metre apart from each other.’ 

He said the test itself was intrusive but was over quickly.

‘It’s is a little bit intrusive, it’s just straight up your nose and it goes back into your throat. It’s almost like an ear cleaner on a very fine wire that curves around the nasal passage,’ he explained. 

‘So you definitely know it’s there but it takes two seconds, it’s very very quick.’ 

Richard had appeared on Fitzy and Wippa last Thursday for a special entertainment segment alongside Studio 10 panelist Angela Bishop. 

In a photo taken at the studio, Fitzy wrapped his arm around Richard’s shoulder while Richard wrapped his arm around Angela and placed his hand on Wippa. 

Fitzy and Wippa will return to the airwaves on Tuesday. They will be broadcasting for the next 14 days from temporary studios set up in their own homes.