US First Lady Jill Biden tests positive for Covid

The president’s 71-year-old wife, who is double-vaccinated and boosted, returned a positive PCR test after developing “cold-like symptoms”.

US First Lady Jill Biden has tested positive for Covid-19, the White House said on Tuesday.

The president’s 71-year-old wife, who is double-vaccinated and boosted, returned a positive PCR test after developing “cold-like symptoms” on Monday evening, according to a statement from her spokesperson, Elizabeth Alexander.

The White House added that President Biden had tested negative for Covid-19 on Tuesday morning, but would wear a mask for 10 days when indoors and around others due to his being a close contact of his wife, the New York Post reported.

US President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)

US First Lady Jill Biden waves before boarding Air Force One (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP)

The president was scheduled to return to Washington later Tuesday before continuing on to his home in Delaware. It was not immediately clear whether the first lady’s positive test would impact any of those plans.

Jill Biden will self-isolate for at least five days and remain at the South Carolina home where the first family had been vacationing until she receives two consecutive negative Covid tests. She is experiencing mild symptoms, the White House said.

The first lady’s case comes nearly a month after the president first tested positive for Covid shortly after returning from a trip to the Middle East.

Joe Biden tested negative five days after his initial infection, but tested positive again days later in a “rebound” case of the coronavirus.

He was cleared to travel again on August 7, after another eight days in isolation.

This story originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as US First Lady Jill Biden tests positive for Covid