US first lady Jill Biden tests negative for COVID-19

U.S. first lady Jill Biden leaves the Church of the Society of Jesus in Quito, Ecuador, May 20, 2022. REUTERS FILE PHOTO

WASHINGTON — U.S. first lady Jill Biden tested negative for COVID-19 after isolating for five days following a positive test, the White House said on Sunday.

“After isolating for five days and receiving negative results from two consecutive COVID-19 tests, the First Lady will depart South Carolina later today for Delaware,” her spokesperson said in a statement.

The White House said on Tuesday that the first lady had tested positive and was experiencing mild symptoms. President Joe Biden himself also recently recovered from the virus.

Jill Biden, who like her husband has been vaccinated twice and boosted twice with the Pfizer Inc COVID-19 vaccine, was prescribed a course of Paxlovid.

She was in South Carolina where the Bidens were on vacation.

When she tested positive on Tuesday, the White House said the president would wear a mask for 10 days when indoors and when in close proximity to others because he was considered a close contact of the first lady. This was in accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The president returned to Washington on Tuesday to sign a landmark climate change and healthcare bill, before continuing to his home in Wilmington, Delaware.

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