Ellen DeGeneres says she ‘got very lucky’ after being diagnosed with COVID-19

Ellen DeGeneres during a taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Ellen DeGeneres said she felt “very lucky” as she was spotted out shopping after recovering from COVID-19.

The talkshow host was photographed by paparazzi talking on her phone as she shopped in Montecito, California on Saturday (19 December), nine days after she publicly announced her diagnosis.

When paparazzi followed DeGeneres to her car, she told them: “I feel great. It’s different for everybody, and I got very, very lucky. So I’m very, very blessed and very grateful that I was able to get past it.”

A representative for DeGeneres told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday (22 December) that the star had already completed COVID-19 self-isolation when she went shopping on Saturday.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) requires that people isolate for a minimum of 10 days after testing positive for coronavirus.

According to the Daily Mail, nobody was near DeGeneres when she pulled her mask down to speak on the phone.

Ellen DeGeneres feels ‘100 per cent’ after recovering from COVID-19.

Ellen DeGeneres revealed that she had tested positive for coronavirus on 10 December with a note posted to Twitter.

“Hi everyone, I want to let you all know that I tested positive for COVID-19,” DeGeneres wrote.

“Fortunately, I’m feeling fine right now. Anyone who has been in close contact with me has been notified, and I am following all proper CDC guidelines. I’ll see you all again after the holidays. Please stay healthy and safe.”

She later updated fans on her condition in a video posted to Twitter, saying she was on the mend after experiencing “excruciating” back pain.

Wearing a plaid shirt and with her dog Wally by her side, DeGeneres told viewers: “Just saying thank you to all the well wishes out there, I appreciate it very much.

“I’m feeling 100 per cent, I feel really good.

“One thing that they don’t tell you is you get, somehow, excruciating back pain.”

DeGeneres saw her reputation pummelled throughout 2020 as former and current staff on her talkshow claimed that the set is engulfed by “toxicity”.

Following an internal investigation into the claims by WarnerMedia, producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman were all fired ahead of the show’s return to screens.