Former Studio 10 reporter Scott Tweedie in NYC ghost town
Australian TV presenter Scott Tweedie has described the moment the force of the COVID-19 pandemic in his new home of New York City really hit him.
Confidential
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FORMER Channel 10 personality Scott Tweedie had only been a New York City local for a matter of weeks before the city was hit by coronavirus, going on to have the highest death rate in the world.
Living alone in Manhattan, Tweedie, co-host of E! News and Pop of the Morning, has felt isolated at times but for the most part, says he is feeling positive and largely unaffected by the chaos that has unfolded around him.
But while the usually bustling streets of Manhattan are dead silent, there are even eerier reminders that there is a pandemic in full swing.
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“It was scary and almost an eye opener when we cycled from my house to the Hudson River,” Tweedie told Confidential.
“To get there you have to go past West Village Hospital and there was a massive truck out the front.
“I can’t say for sure what that truck was for but I’m pretty sure it was for dead bodies.
“I mean it could be supplies, but in the back of my mind I thought ‘I’ve seen the death tolls, the logical thing here would be for bodies.
“It’s an eerie thing.”
New York State has had more than 200,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 10,000 deaths.
Despite this the 32-year-old said it was an easy decision to remain in the US as opposed to returning to Australia, as it was such an ordeal to move there in the first place.
His Australian girlfriend, architect Madeleine John, is due to join him in June or July, something he is hoping will still happen.
The couple have been together for a year with John originally based in Brisbane. Tweedie had just successfully campaigned for her to move to Sydney when he got the offer from E! in New York City – an offer he could not refuse.
Once he got to Manhattan, he began working on the campaign to get her to move abroad, which was derailed by the pandemic.
“We’re still hoping she will be able to move over but we can’t predict it – one; she might not be allowed to and two; job hunting will be hard,” he said.
“It’s just hard missing her. Walking outside on my hour a day I’m allowed outside, it’s such a cool place.
“I want my friend here, I want company.
“If we can get through this we can get through anything.”
Tweedie is still filming from his apartment for E! and has also joined Tik Tok to help pass the time, which he said has been completely addictive.