The housemates identities are still under wraps -- even host Julie Chen Moonves said she doesn't know who the 16 people are who will be living in the house. The potential castmates have been quarantined leading up to the premiere, according to Chen Moonves.Production flew in "a bunch of people, more than 16," Chen told CBSN Los Angeles.
"Some people I thought were definitely going in the house, they tested positive for Covid-19 so they couldn't go in," Chen Moonves said.
In a separate interview with SiriusXM, Chen Moonves explained that production staff who are essential to get the show on air wear masks and take weekly Covid-19 tests.
"I'm the only person that's not going to be wearing a mask for the limited time when I'm on television, but when we're in commercial or what have you, that mask is going on," she said.
Crew also wear color-coded lanyards and can only be in the areas that are marked with their color.
"So let's say you're in the orange pod and your lanyard and ID has orange on it. You can only go into the spots where orange can go into," Chen Moonves explained.
On screen, when a houseguest gets evicted, social distancing will mean no more shaking hands and no hugs with the host.
Reflecting on the 20 years since "Big Brother" debuted in the US, Chen Moonves said her approach to hosting has evolved over time.
"Season 1, I was terrible," she said. "Let's just say what everyone knows: I was the Chenbot. I deserved that name because I was robotic. I came from a news background and I was asked to do this show and I thought, 'Okay, I'm going to be really straight, with no personality, because my original dream was one day to be a correspondent on '60 Minutes.' And I was told if I do this reality show, I probably am shutting and sealing that door shut from ever going through it. I'm going to prove them wrong.' They were right, by the way. I was never asked to do 60 Minutes."
Chen Moonves said she's grown into the role.
"I finally learned how to embrace the Chenbot," she said. "The stars of the show are the ones in the house. I'm just the conductor of this train. So sometimes letting my personality show. I learned that also from I did eight years on 'The Talk,' where again, I had to learn how to not be so newsy and just not editorialize and kind of bring a little bit of my real personality to the table. So it's been a journey for me."
Read more:
'Big Brother' returns with color-coded pods and no hugs amid coronavirus pandemic - CNN
- The Health Department website was attacked in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Defining Coronavirus Symptoms: From Mild To Moderate To Severe : Goats and Soda - NPR [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- What Are the Symptoms of a Coronavirus Infection? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Hotels Were Rolling Out Tools to Help Calm Travelers. Then Coronavirus Hit. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- The Coronavirus, by the Numbers - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Opinion: Early Coronavirus Testing Failures Will Cost Lives - NPR [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Cases Surge in U.S. and Europe - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Two Emergency Room Doctors Are in Critical Condition With Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus: Over 1000 Cases Now In U.S., And 'It's Going To Get Worse,' Fauci Says - NPR [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- China Spins Tale That the U.S. Army Started the Coronavirus Epidemic - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Everything to Know About the Coronavirus in the United States - The Cut [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus closed this school. The kids have special needs: 'You can't Netflix them all day.' - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- How Long Can The Coronavirus Live On Surfaces? : Shots - Health News - NPR [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Cost to Businesses and Workers: It Has All Gone to Hell - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- In the U.S., More Than 300 Coronavirus Cases Are Confirmed - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- How Jair Bolsonaro's Son, Eduardo, Confirmed His Father's Positive Coronavirus Test to Fox News, Then Lied About It - The Intercept [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- De Blasio Resisted on Coronavirus. Then Aides Said Theyd Quit. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Trump Is Tested for Coronavirus, and Experts Ask: What Took So Long? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Live Coronavirus Updates and Coverage - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Threatens Americans With Underlying Conditions - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Capitalism and How to Beat It - The Intercept [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- An essential reading guide to understand the coronavirus - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- N.Y.C.s Economy Could be Ravaged by Coronavirus Outbreak - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- 'A ticking time bomb': Scientists worry about coronavirus spread in Africa - Science Magazine [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- How coronavirus is affecting the restaurant business, in one chart - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Map: How To Track Coronavirus Spread Across The Globe - Forbes [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Testing Website Goes Live and Quickly Hits Capacity - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Map: How Many Cases Of Coronavirus Are There In Each US State? : Shots - Health News - NPR [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Live Coronavirus Updates and Coverage Globally - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- This Is How the Coronavirus Will Destroy the Economy - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Every Star and Public Figure Diagnosed with COVID-19: A Running List - The Daily Beast [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus: What you need to know - Fox News [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Travel updates: which countries have coronavirus restrictions and FCO warnings in place? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Staff angered as Charter prohibits working from home despite spread of coronavirus - TechCrunch [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- If coronavirus scares you, read this to take control over your health anxiety - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- San Francisco and Bay Area will shelter in place to slow coronavirus spread - The Verge [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus spreading fastest in UK in London - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Businesses Face a New Coronavirus Threat: Shrinking Access to Credit - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Welcome to Marriage During the Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Sweeping restrictions take effect in coronavirus response as health officials warn US is at a tipping point - CNN [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- How Long Will the Coronavirus Outbreak and Shutdown Last? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- 201920 coronavirus pandemic - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus - World Health Organization [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- What Is Coronavirus? | HowStuffWorks [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus | CISA [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Is there a cure for the new coronavirus? - Livescience.com [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Shelter in Place: Some Residents in Bay Area Ordered to Stay Home - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Tracking the Impact of the Coronavirus on the U.S. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- 8 Things Parents Should Know About The Coronavirus: Life Kit - NPR [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Spain, on Lockdown, Weighs Liberties Against Containing Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- New Yorks Nightlife Shuttered to Curb Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- How best to fight the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Heres whos most at risk from the novel coronavirus - The Verge [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Closing Down the Schools Over Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- The U.S. Economy Cant Withstand the Coronavirus by Itself - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- U.S. Lags in Coronavirus Testing After Slow Response to Outbreak - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- U.K. Steps Up Coronavirus Prevention, But Its Hospitals Have Already Been Strained - NPR [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus panic is clearing out grocery stores; heres how workers are handling it - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Tracking the Coronavirus: How Crowded Asian Cities Tackled an Epidemic - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Treatment: Hundreds of Scientists Scramble to Find One - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus cases have dropped sharply in South Korea. What's the secret to its success? - Science Magazine [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Facebook was marking legitimate news articles about the coronavirus as spam due to a software bug - The Verge [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- The Single Most Important Lesson From the 1918 Influenza - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- How to Protect Older People From the Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Is Killing Iranians. So Are Trump's Brutal Sanctions. - The Intercept [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Is there a cure for coronavirus? Why Covid-19 is so hard to treat - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Coronavirus: The math behind why we need social distancing, starting right now - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Europeans Erect Borders Against Coronavirus, but the Enemy Is Already Within - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Some of the last people on earth to hear about the coronavirus pandemic are going to be told on live TV - CNN [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Why the US is still struggling to test for the coronavirus - The Verge [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- The Coronavirus Is Here to Stay, So What Happens Next? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Coronavirus in the U.S. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Watch the Footprint of Coronavirus Spread Across Countries - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Why the Covid-19 coronavirus is worse than the flu, in one chart - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2020]
- Fact-Checking 5 Trump Administration Claims On The Coronavirus Pandemic - NPR [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2020]
- Trump has scoreboard obsession. It hasnt worked with coronavirus - POLITICO [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2020]
- Here's What Is In The 'Families First' Coronavirus Aid Package Trump Approved - NPR [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2020]
- Young Adults Come to Grips With Coronavirus Health Risks - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2020]
- Which Country Has Flattened the Curve for the Coronavirus? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2020]