New York [US], September 6: First Lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID on Monday night, but a test taken by President Biden, 80, came back negative.
Jill Biden, 72, was experiencing "mild symptoms" on Monday night and was expected to recover at home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., said a statement from , a spokeswoman for the first lady.
The diagnosis has upended the first lady's plans to begin teaching the fall semester at Northern Virginia Community College on Tuesday. She is working with the school to "ensure her classes are covered by a substitute," Vanessa Valdivia, the first lady's spokesperson, said.
Dr. Biden, 72, who remains at the family's home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, typically teaches on Tuesday and Thursdays. Biden will be "monitored by the White House medical team" after her diagnosis and follow the team's advice about when to return the White House, Valdivia said.
In addition to starting school on Tuesday, Biden was supposed to speak in the evening in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, at a send-off dinner for the US team competing in the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, Germany next week, but now she will not participate, Valdivia said.
The Bidens spent the Labor Day weekend together in . President Biden returned to Washington on Monday.
The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said the president received his negative test result Monday night after his wife tested positive.
"The president will test at a regular cadence this week and monitor for symptoms," Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
An administration official told CNN Monday that there are no changes to White House Covid protocols or to the president's schedule at this time.
President Biden had a bout with COVID in July 2022 and was treated with Paxlovid, an antiviral therapy. He said at the time that his symptom-light, work-heavy virus experience underscored American progress "in the fight against COVID-19."
Jill Biden also previously tested positive for COVID in August 2022.
The president is due to head to India later this week for a meeting of the Group of 20 nations.
COVID hospital admissions in the US have climbed by nearly 20 percent in the last week, according to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Source: Qatar Tribune