First lady Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19 for second time

First lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time on Monday, the White House announced. President Joe Biden tested negative for the virus.

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In a statement, Jill Biden’s communications director, Elizabeth Alexander, said that the first lady was “currently experiencing only mild symptoms.”

Jill Biden, 72, will remain at the family’s home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where the couple was staying for the Labor Day weekend, USA Today reported.

Jill Biden’s diagnosis came slightly more than a year after she tested positive for coronavirus in August 2022 in South Carolina. She had mild symptoms on Aug. 15 when she and the president were vacationing in Kiawah Island.

The first lady was fully vaccinated and received two booster shots at the time, and was prescribed a course of Paxlovid, an antiviral treatment aimed at reducing the severity of the disease.

The president tested positive for COVID-19 in July 2022, a month before his wife.

According to The Associated Press, the first lady had planned to start the new school year Tuesday at Northern Virginia Community College, where she teaches English and writing. Jill Biden was working with school officials to arrange substitute teachers for her classes, Alexander told the AP.

Jill Biden traveled with the president to Florida on Saturday to inspect the damage caused by Hurricane Idalia, a Category 3 storm that slammed into the state’s Big Bend region.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added in a statement that the president “will test at a regular cadence this week and monitor for symptoms.”

President Biden traveled to Philadephia to commemorate Labor Day, USA Today reported. He is scheduled to leave on Thursday for a visit to the Group of 20 summit in India, The Washington Post reported.