First Lady Jill Biden Tests Positive For COVID-19
First lady Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, the White House announced Tuesday.
Biden, 71, is fully vaccinated and twice boosted. She is vacationing in South Carolina at a private residence with President Joe Biden, who tested negative for the virus Tuesday, officials said.
The first lady is being treated with the antiviral therapy Paxlovid and will return to the White House after receiving two consecutive negative COVID-19 tests, while the president will return to Washington as part of his regular schedule, officials said.
President Joe Biden looks at his grandson Beau Biden as first lady Jill Biden waves and walks to board Air Force One in Maryland on Aug. 10. (Photo: via Associated Press)
Jill Biden’s diagnosis came one day after she tested negative for the virus during a regularly planned test, the White House said.
She began to develop cold-like symptoms later in the evening and took a rapid antigen test, which came back negative. A PCR test, which takes longer to process, later came back positive.
The Bidens were scheduled to leave Kiawah Island on Tuesday, where they have been vacationing since Wednesday.
Joe Biden himself was recently holed up in the White House for more than two weeks after testing positive for the virus. He first tested positive on July 21 and came out of isolation on July 27, only to test positive again three days later. He was also treated with Paxlovid and was said to have only mild symptoms.
He will wear a mask for the next 10 days when indoors and while in close proximity to others as a precaution, his administration said.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
