First lady Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19

First lady Dr. Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday evening, the White House said. 

Biden, 72, was experiencing mild symptoms at the time of the positive test, the first lady’s communications director, Elizabeth Alexander, said in a statement. She plans to remain at her home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. 

President Biden was administered a COVID-19 test after the first lady’s positive result — he tested negative, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. 

“The President will test at a regular cadence this week and monitor for symptoms,” Jean-Pierre said.

Biden, a professor at Northern Virginia Community College, last week told middle schoolers in Washington, D.C., that she was set to begin teaching courses again this week.

Given her COVID-19 diagnosis, Biden is “working with NOVA to ensure her classes are covered by a substitute,” Alexander told CBS News. Biden is the first presidential spouse to hold a full-time job while living in the White House.

Mr. Biden is scheduled to travel to India on Sept. 7 for the Group of 20 leaders’ summit, followed by a one-day visit to Hanoi, Vietnam. 

The first lady’s positive test result came two days after she and Mr. Biden traveled to Delaware from Florida, where they had been visiting communities ravaged by Hurricane Idalia.

The first lady previously tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 16, 2022, a few weeks after Mr. Biden experienced his own bout with COVID. After being treated with paxlovid, she experienced a “rebound” case a week later and returned to isolation.

—Ed O’Keefe contributed reporting.

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