CNN’s Don Lemon expressed his pain Tuesday evening (March 31) while talking about his friend and fellow anchor Chris Cuomo, who has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. 

The late-night host got emotional on CNN Tonight with Don Lemon.

“I said I wasn’t going to do this,” Lemon said wiping away his tears. “He’s probably at home laughing at me.” 

Lemon also shared their text exchange.

“He’s going to be fine, we have been talking all day and we are texting and he’s like, ‘People are treating me like I’m dying, I’m not dying,” Lemon said. 

Earlier in the evening’s broadcast, Lemon and Cuomo shared a few moments on levity on air while they discussed Cuomo’s new work from situation. 

“Where’s your suit?” Lemon asked Cuomo who is continuing to work but from his basement, now staying quarantined away from his family.

“I’m too sick,” Cuomo explained. “Christina said it didn’t look right for me to be sick in a funeral suit. It’s too much like what I might be buried in.”

“Yeah? Did she come down there and do some decorating and help you dress?” Lemon laughed. 

“Nope. Nobody will come anywhere — those stairs are a no-go zone,” Cuomo answered. “Even the dogs don’t come.”

“Listen, everybody, don’t get it twisted,” Lemon said, composing himself. “We know this is very serious. This is how Chris and I interact, we tease each other. So when I got the call earlier this morning, it said Christopher Cuomo, I was like, oh boy, here we go. But I was actually on a business call so I told you I’d call you back, I called you right back and I knew what you were going to tell me.”

“You’re a strong guy, so I know that you’ll be fine,” Lemon added.

Cuomo first announced that he tested positive for COVID-19 on his Twitter page.

The Cuomo Prime Time anchor later revealed to Lemon what his true pain was. 

“I’ll tell you what I feel badly about and this is why I want you to avoid this. It’s not being sick. I’ll deal with it. Whatever it is, it is. So many people have it so much worse. I don’t believe that that’s the way I’m gonna go,” Cuomo said. “But not being able to be there for the people you love, for guys like me and you, that is a killer.”

He continued, “To have those kids upstairs and I don’t know if any of them are sick yet because of me,” he continued. “My wife, the center of everything. And I’m down here. That sucks. And I don’t want other people to be in this position. So learn from me. You can get it. Avoid it.”

As of Wednesday morning, The New York Times database reports that there are 188,247 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States plus Washington, D.C. and four U.S. territories. At least 3,921 patients have died. 

Watch Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo’s exchange below:

For the latest on the coronavirus, check out BET’s blog on the virus, and contact your local health department or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.