Jill Biden ends COVID-19 isolation after testing negative, will rejoin president on vacation
Written by ABC Audio All Rights Reserved on August 21, 2022
(WASHINGTON) — First lady Jill Biden will end her COVID-19 isolation on Sunday after receiving two consecutive negative tests and quarantining for five days, the White House announced.
Her spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said in a statement that she will leave South Carolina and join President Joe Biden in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he is vacationing.
Jill Biden had previously tested positive for the coronavirus last week while vacationing in South Carolina with her husband. After becoming infected, she remained at a private residence after the president left the Palmetto State.
It does not appear that the first lady’s case was serious. She experienced cold-like symptoms Monday and was prescribed the antiviral treatment Paxlovid, her spokeswoman said. She was also able to join meetings via Zoom Thursday.
“She’s feeling well,” the president told ABC News last week.
He was considered a close contact of the first lady and, as such, started masking while indoors around others for 10 days starting from Jill Biden’s positive test. President Biden has since tested negative for COVID-19.
He recently recovered from COVID himself: He first tested positive on July 21 and experienced mild symptoms like a sore throat and cough. He too received Paxlovid and ultimately tested negative before experiencing a mild rebound infection and testing positive for a second time, sending him back into quarantine.
The president’s physician announced on Aug. 6 that he had again tested negative.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.
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