Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19

NPR | By Barbara Sprunt

Published August 16, 2022 at 11:44 AM EDT

First Lady Jill Biden rides her bicycle along the beach while on vacation in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, on August 14, 2022.

First lady Jill Biden, 71, has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, according to a statement from her spokeswoman, Elizabeth Alexander.

"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. She tested negative again on a rapid antigen test, but a PCR test came back positive," the statement said.

The first lady, who is double-vaccinated and twice boosted, has been prescribed a course of Paxlovid. Per CDC guidance, Biden will remain at a private residence in Kiawah Island, South Carolina and isolate from others for at least five days.

The statement said she plans to return home after receiving two consecutive negative COVID tests.

The White House said President Biden, who has been vacationing with his wife and family, is considered a close contact and will mask while indoors for the next 10 days.

Consistent with CDC guidance because he is a close contact of the First Lady, he will mask for 10 days when indoors and in close proximity to others. We will also increase the President's testing cadence and report those results.
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) August 16, 2022

Biden, who tested positive for COVID at the end of July and experienced a rebound case, has tested negative for COVID on an antigen test.

Biden is scheduled to return to Washington Tuesday afternoon to sign the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats' sweeping spending bill that aims to tackle climate change while lowering the deficit and the cost of prescription drugs. It passed without any Republican support.