Sept. 4 (UPI) — First lady Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, the White House announced Monday while confirming that President Joe Biden has tested negative.
“This evening, the first lady tested positive for COVID-19. She is currently experiencing only mild symptoms. She will remain at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Del.,” the first lady’s spokesperson Elizabeth Alexander said in a statement late Monday.
This is the second time Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, despite being “double-vaccinated” and “twice boosted,” according to the White House.
The first lady tested positive in August of last year while vacationing in South Carolina, while President Biden tested positive a month earlier. Both experienced rebound cases after being treated with Paxlovid.
“Following the first lady’s positive test for COVID-19, President Biden was administered a COVID test this evening,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced in a statement Monday night. “The president will test at a regular cadence this week and monitor for symptoms.”
In July, Jean-Pierre reminded reporters — after members of Israeli President Isaac Herzog‘s delegation tested positive — that anyone who meets with the president is still tested for COVID-19.
“We have testing protocols when — anytime somebody meets with the president,” Jean-Pierre said in July. “So, I can tell you that anybody who meets with the president does indeed get tested. I do. We all do.”
On Saturday, the president and first lady traveled to Florida together to tour damage from Hurricane Idalia.
President Biden returned to the White House on Monday, while Jill Biden remained in Delaware.