Fox News has parted ways with one of its early morning hosts after she turned up to work visibly sick at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Heather Childers, who had been at the Fox since 2012, was side-lined by the network after hosting Fox & Friends First on March 18 while visibly unwell, CNN reported.
Childers returned to work the following morning to host again but that would prove to be her final on-air appearance.
Earlier this week, after Childers removed all references to Fox News from her social media accounts.
'Fox News and Heather Childers have parted ways. We wish her all the best,' a spokesperson told CNN.
Heather Childers, who had been at the Fox since 2012, was side-lined by the network after hosting Fox & Friends First on March 18 (above) while visibly unwell
The scare caused by Childers came as Fox News was criticized for allowing many of its key stars to downplay the seriousness of COVID-19 on-air, during the key periods of February and March, when the virus first began ravaging across the US.
Hosts of Fox & Friends would frequently side with President Trump's claims the virus was under control and would simply go away somehow.
The network's tone shifted significantly on March 16, however, when New York City and other major metro areas ground to a halt as governors issued stay-at-home orders. Fox executives instituted work-from-home plans and limited the number of people who were allowed at the network's headquarters.
Childers was responsible for hosting the 4am hour of Fox and Friends First at the time, the network's first live show of the day.
Sources told CNN that on March 18, Childers turned up to work and was 'noticeably' sick both on and off camera, causing concern among her colleague who were still coming into the building to work.
Childers visited a doctor after hosting the segment and took to Twitter to say she was fine. She then returned to work the following day.
However, Fox executives were 'angry that she came to work while visibly ill,' a source told CNN. She was then benched from March 20 onwards.
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Childers (above in December, entering Trump Tower) frequently shared messages of support from fans, and tweeted President Trump directly, asking him 'Can I return to work?'
Childers returned to work the following morning on March 18 to host again but that would prove to be her final on-air appearance
In the days and weeks that followed, Childers repeatedly took to Twitter to publicly lobby the network to allow her to return to the air.
In a March 31 tweet, she admitted to 'coughing and sneezing on air', but said she 'never went to work feeling sick'. She also repeatedly noted that she had tested negative for coronavirus, and sent those results to her superiors.
By April 6, she tweeted that she had tested negative twice, and said Fox management were leaving her in the dark about when she would be able to return to work. She frequently shared messages of support from fans, and tweeted President Trump directly, pleading her case.
'I'd love to go back to work @realDonaldTrump,' she tweeted April 9, 'but the antibody tests only show positive if you have had the virus. I've had TWO negative COVID19 tests results & no symptoms … Can I go back to work?'
She tweeted the president directly again 10 days later, urging him: 'Please get us all back to work.'
But the answer from her superiors seemed to be a resounding no. And earlier this month, after she was no longer affiliated with the network, she removed all Fox News references from her social-media profiles and began tweeting articles from Fox's right-wing competitors instead.
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