Steve Burton back on ‘General Hospital’ three years after COVID firing

How can we miss him if he won’t go away?

Steve Burton is checking back into “General Hospital” as Jason Morgan — three years after leaving the ABC soap over COVID vaccine mandates.

The Big Burton Reveal came at the end of ABC’s special, “General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars & Storytelling,” which aired Thursday, Jan. 4 after the live telecast of “The Golden Bachelor” wedding.

As dramatic music played, and with “GH” co-stars Kelly Monaco and Lauren Wright on either side, Burton opened a door and walked through.

He appeared onscreen with these words: “Happy Anniversary, ‘General Hospital.’ Stay tuned — big things coming to Port Charles.”

Burton, who’s spent the past year as Harris Michaels on NBC’s “Days of Our Lives,” has played Jason Morgan on “GH” several times — from 1991-2012 and again from 2017 through 2021, when he left the show right after Jason married Carly (Laura Wright).

At the time, he posed a prescient video to his Instagram account in which he said he wanted his fans “to hear it from me personally … Unfortunately, ‘General Hospital’ has let me go because of the vaccine mandate” and alluded to one day returning the soap.

“I’ll always be grateful for my time on ‘General Hospital.’ I love it there, I grew up there. I believe that when one door closes, multiple doors open … so I am excited to see what the future brings. And maybe one day, if these mandates are lifted, I can return and can finish my career as Jason Morgan.” 

Three weeks before Burton was booted his “GH” co-star, Ingo Rademacher (Jasper Jacks) was fired after criticizing COVID mandates. He later sued ABC for religious discrimination.

Burton told Deadline last July that his departure was “tough.”

“That’s just the way it is,” he said. “I’ll aways be grateful for my time there. It was my family for so long. I grew up there and the fans have always been awesome to me.”

Well, now the fans will have the chance to be “awesome” to Burton once again, although there’s no word on when Jason will reenter the “GH” universe other than “early 2024.”

Burton has made headlines in other ways as of late.

His “Days of Our Lives” exit came after Burton split from his wife, Sheree Burton, after claiming she got pregnant by another man, in July 2022.

They’ve agreed to split custody of their kids, Makena, 19, Jack, 17, and Brooklyn, 9, according to documents obtained by Us Weekly. Neither of them will pay spousal or child support.

Their divorce was finalized last month.