First lady Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, her spokeswoman said Tuesday.
“After testing negative for COVID-19 on Monday during her regular testing schedule, the first lady began experiencing cold symptoms late in the evening,” Elizabeth Alexander, Jill Biden’s director of communications, said in a statement. “She tested negative again on a rapid antigen test, but a PCR test came back positive.”
The 71-year-old first lady, who has been double-vaccinated and twice-boosted, has mild symptoms, Alexander said.
“She has been given a course of Paxlovid and, per CDC guidance, will be isolating herself from others for at least five days,” Alexander added.
The first lady currently resides in a private home in South Carolina, where she and President Biden vacationed.
The president, who recently recovered from his own battle with COVID-19, was scheduled to return to Washington, DC, on Tuesday afternoon to sign the Inflation Reduction Act into law.
He tested negative for COVID on an antigen test this morning, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
“In accordance with CDC guidelines, because he is in close contact with the first lady, he will mask for 10 days when indoors and in close proximity to others,” added Jean-Pierre. “We will also increase the president’s testing frequency and report those results.”
The president first tested positive for the virus on July 21. He was also prescribed Paxlovid, an antiviral therapy recommended by Dr. Kevin O’Connor, his doctor.
After five days of isolation, he tested negative twice and returned to the Oval Office. He tested positive again on July 30 in what doctors described as a rebound case, and resumed “strict isolation” measures.
He tested negative twice and ended his isolation on August 7.
