United States First Lady Jill Biden tests COVID positive: White House

#covid19 #JillBiden #JoeBiden

First Lady Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19
Biden is currently at a private residential space at South Carolina
She will return to the White House "after she receives two consecutive negative COVID tests"

Written By:Sayak

Updated: August 16 2022 04:50:36 AM ET Washington D.C., DC, USA

The White House has made an announcement stating that United States’ First Lady, Jill Biden, has tested positive for COVID-19. The report comes only nine days after President Joe Biden himself tested COVID positive. In its statement, the White House has also said that the First Lady had tested negative on Monday, but “began to develop cold-like symptoms late in the evening.” Notably, while the first test was a rapid test, the second one was a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test.

The First Lady’s communicator, Elizabeth Alexander, also issued a statement in this regard, saying, “The First Lady is double-vaccinated, twice boosted, and only experiencing mild symptoms. She has been prescribed a course of Paxlovid and, following CDC guidance, will isolate from others for at least five days”.

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Notably, President Biden had tested positive for COVID for the first time on July 21 after he returned from a scheduled trip to the Middle East. On July 27, he tested negative and ended his isolation, but ended up testing positive once again on July 30. On Tuesday morning, the White House reported that he had tested negative but will continue wearing a mask indoors since he has come in close contact with his wife recently.

The First Lady is currently not at the White House, but in a private residential space in South Carolina where the First Family had gone for a vacation. The press statement also says that Biden will “return home after she receives two consecutive negative COVID tests.”

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Jill Biden is not the first lady to have tested COVID-positive. Former First Lady Melania Trump had also tested positive for the virus in October 2020, which also led to her cancelling a campaign rally for her husband, former President Donald Trump. In the same month, Trump also tested positive for COVID and was admitted to Maryland’s Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.