WASHINGTON — Jill Biden, the primary lady, tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday evening and is quarantining at a personal home in South Carolina, where she and President Biden had been vacationing for the past several days, her office announced on Tuesday.
Dr. Biden is experiencing mild symptoms, Elizabeth Alexander, her communications director, said in a press release. The primary lady has been prescribed Paxlovid, an antiviral medication that reduces the consequences of the infection, and won’t return to the White House until she receives two consecutive negative tests, Ms. Alexander said.
“The primary lady began to develop coldlike symptoms late within the evening,” Ms. Alexander said within the statement. “She tested negative again on a rapid antigen test, but a P.C.R. test got here back positive. The primary lady is double vaccinated, twice boosted and only experiencing mild symptoms.”
An announcement sent to reporters said that Mr. Biden tested negative on Tuesday morning. He returned to the White House to sign the climate and tax bill within the afternoon, and he continued on to Wilmington, Del., for the remaining of the week as planned.
“Consistent with C.D.C. guidance because he’s an in depth contact of the primary lady, he’ll mask for 10 days when indoors and in close proximity to others,” the White House statement said. “We may even increase the president’s testing cadence and report those results.”
