Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, her communications director said Tuesday, with the First Lady now isolating for at least five days.
A statement from Elizabeth Alexander said Dr. Biden, 71, was “only experiencing mild symptoms” of the illness, and that she is being treated with Paxlovid. News of the First Lady’s case comes just weeks after her husband, Joe Biden, first tested positive for the illness.
“After testing negative for COVID-19 on Monday during her regular testing cadence, the First Lady began to develop cold-like symptoms late in the evening,” the statement read. “She tested negative again on a rapid antigen test, but a PCR test came back positive. The First Lady is double-vaccinated, twice boosted, and only experiencing mild symptoms.”
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“She has been prescribed a course of Paxlovid and, following CDC guidance, will isolate from others for at least five days,” the statement continued. Paxlovid is the same antiviral treatment which was used to treat the president after he contracted the virus, and is typically given to older patients or those who may be at risk of developing serious illness from COVID.
“Close contacts of the First Lady have been notified,” Alexander's statement continued. “She is currently staying at a private residence in South Carolina and will return home after she receives two consecutive negative COVID tests.”
President Biden, 79, first tested positive for COVID on July 21. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president had tested negative for COVID on an antigen test on Tuesday morning. He is nevertheless considered a close contact of the First Lady and, in accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he will now wear a mask indoors for 10 days and test more frequently, the White House said.
With the First Lady remaining in South Carolina—where she had been vacationing on Kiawah Island with her family—President Biden is set to return to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday for the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act. He is then scheduled to travel to his home in Wilmington, Delaware, Tuesday evening.
