Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19

First lady Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, her spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

“After testing negative for COVID-19 on Monday during her regular testing cadence, the first lady began to develop cold-like symptoms late in the evening,” Elizabeth Alexander, Jill Biden’s communications director, said in a statement. “She tested negative again on a rapid antigen test, but a PCR test came back positive.”

The 71-year-old first lady, who is double vaccinated and twice boosted, is experiencing mild symptoms, Alexander said.

“She has been prescribed a course of Paxlovid and, following CDC guidance, will isolate from others for at least five days,” Alexander added.

The first lady is currently staying at a private residence in South Carolina, where she and President Biden have been vacationing.

The president, who recently recovered from his own bout with COVID-19, was scheduled to return to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday afternoon to sign the Inflation Reduction Act into law.

He tested negative for COVID this morning on an antigen test, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

"Consistent with CDC guidance because he is a close contact of the first lady, he will mask for 10 days when indoors and in close proximity to others," Jean-Pierre added. "We will also increase the president's testing cadence and report those results."

The president first tested positive for the virus on July 21. He was also prescribed Paxlovid, an antiviral therapy that was recommended by Dr. Kevin O'Connor, his physician.

After five days of isolation, he tested negative twice and returned to the Oval Office. He tested positive again on July 30 in what doctors described as a rebound case, and resumed “strict isolation” measures.

He tested negative twice and ended his isolation on Aug. 7.