First Lady Leaving COVID Isolation

Jill Biden tests negative
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 16, 2022 9:55 AM CDT
Updated Aug 21, 2022 10:00 AM CDT
COVID Interrupts Jill Biden's Vacation
President Biden is seen with grandson Beau Biden as first lady Jill Biden waves and walks to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Wednesday.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Update: The first lady is COVID-free again. Jill Biden has tested negative for the coronavirus and will leave isolation in South Carolina, per the AP. The 71-year-old tested positive last week but had only mild symptoms. She now plans to join her husband at their Delaware beach house, her office said Sunday. Our story from Aug. 16 follows:

Original story: First lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing "mild symptoms," the White House announced Tuesday. She'd been vacationing with President Biden in South Carolina when she began experiencing symptoms on Monday, per the AP. "After testing negative for COVID-19 on Monday during her regular testing cadence, the first lady began to develop coldlike symptoms late in the evening. She tested negative again on a rapid antigen test, but a PCR test came back positive," said Jill Biden's communications director, Elizabeth Alexander, per CNN.

The 71-year-old, who's double-vaccinated against COVID-19 and has received two booster shots, has been prescribed the antiviral drug Paxlovid and will isolate at a private vacation home for at least five days, per the AP. She "will return home after she receives two consecutive negative COVID tests," Alexander said. President Biden tested negative for the virus on Tuesday morning, the White House said, but he'll be wearing a mask indoors for 10 days in line with CDC guidance. He recovered from a rebound case of the virus on Aug. 7.

(More Jill Biden stories.)

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