First lady Jill Biden tests positive for coronavirus

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First lady Jill Biden has tested positive for coronavirus, and she will isolate and begin a course of antiviral treatment, according to the White House.

“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,” her spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said in a statement. “She tested negative again on a rapid antigen test, but a PCR test came back positive.”

Alexander noted that Jill Biden, 71, is “double-vaccinated, twice boosted and only experiencing mild symptoms.” The first lady has been prescribed the antiviral therapy Paxlovid and will isolate from others for at least five days, in accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loosened many of its coronavirus recommendations and placed more responsibility on individuals. (Video: The Washington Post)

The first lady’s positive test comes a few weeks after President Biden, 79, tested positive for the coronavirus on July 21. The president tested negative for the coronavirus Tuesday morning on an antigen test, but will mask for 10 days when indoors and in close proximity to others because he is a close contact of the first lady, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

“We will also increase the President’s testing cadence and report those results,” she added.

Jill Biden had been scheduled to travel to Florida on Thursday and Friday to speak at two events dedicated to veterans and military families.