Vacationing U.S. First Lady down with Covid-19 just as hubby recovers from virus

U.S. First Lady, Jill Biden, tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms just as President Joe Biden has continued to test negative after recently recovering from the virus, the White House has said.

The 71-year-old tested negative earlier on Monday as part of her regular testing routine, but a PCR test taken after she developed cold-like symptoms came back positive, her spokesperson Elizabeth Alexander said.

President Biden will wear a mask for 10 days when indoors and when in close proximity to others because he is considered a close contact of the first lady, according to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

He plans to return to Washington to sign a landmark climate change and healthcare bill, before continuing to his home in Wilmington, Delaware.

“We will also increase the president’s testing cadence and report those results,” Jen-Pierre said.

The president recovered from a rebound case of the virus on Aug. 7.

Jill, who like her husband, has been vaccinated twice and boosted twice with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, has been prescribed a course of Paxlovid and will isolate in her vacation home for at least five days.

The first lady is currently in South Carolina where the Bidens have been on vacation, and will return home after she receives two consecutive negative COVID tests.

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