U.S First Lady Jill Biden Tests Positive For COVID

First lady Dr. Jill Biden has tested positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, her spokesperson said Tuesday August 16. 

 Jill tested positive for COVID-19 on the last day of a family beach trip to South Carolina, days after President Biden fully recovered from a weeks-long illness.

 Though she is double-vaxxed and boosted, she returned a positive PCR test after developing “cold-like symptoms” on Monday evening, according to a statement from her spokesperson, Elizabeth Alexander.

The first lady, 71, has been prescribed the antiviral Paxlovid and will isolate from others for at least five days, the statement added.

 “Close contacts of the First Lady have been notified. She is currently staying at a private residence in South Carolina and will return home after she receives two consecutive negative COVID tests,” Alexander said.

 The first lady has been vacationing with President Joe Biden on Kiawah Island, S.C., since last week. She was expected to travel to Orlando, Fla., on Thursday for events at Walt Disney World Resort.

 
The White House said Biden tested negative Tuesday morning on an antigen test. As a close contact of the first lady, he will mask for 10 days when indoors and in close proximity to others. It also said it will increase his testing cadence and report those results.