On Monday, it was announced by the White House that First Lady Jill Biden has tested positive for Covid-19 and is currently experiencing mild symptoms. President Joe Biden, however, has tested negative for the virus.
As a result of her diagnosis, the first lady's plans to start teaching the fall semester at Northern Virginia Community College on Tuesday have been disrupted. She is collaborating with the school to ensure that her classes will be covered by a substitute teacher. Typically, Dr. Biden teaches on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but she is presently at her family's residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Following her diagnosis, Jill Biden will be under the supervision of the White House medical team and will follow their recommendations regarding when it's safe for her to return to the White House. In addition to her teaching duties, she was scheduled to speak at an evening event in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, to bid farewell to the US team competing in the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, Germany next week. However, due to her illness, she will not be able to participate in this event.
At this time, there have been no alterations to White House Covid protocols or the president's schedule, according to an administration official.
This diagnosis comes at a hectic time for President Joe Biden, who had delivered a Labor Day speech in Philadelphia earlier in the day and has plans to present the Medal of Honor to an Army captain in a White House ceremony on Tuesday before departing for the G20 Summit in India on Thursday.
CNN has requested more information regarding the regular Covid testing routines for both the president and the first lady, as well as whether President Biden was in close contact with his wife when she began showing symptoms of Covid-19.
Last summer, Jill Biden tested positive for Covid-19 while vacationing in South Carolina in August, and President Biden had tested positive in July. Both experienced subsequent cases of the virus shortly after being treated with Paxlovid.
In July, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had stated that anyone meeting with the president is still required to undergo Covid-19 testing prior to their meeting, following positive cases within the delegation of Israeli President Isaac Herzog ahead of a bilateral meeting.
Jill Biden's diagnosis comes at a time when Covid-19 is once again in the spotlight as the world approaches its fourth virus season since the pandemic began. Earlier in the summer, data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated a slight increase in hospital admissions, emergency department visits, and positive Covid-19 tests, though not as high as previous summers.
Overall, there were about four new hospital admissions for every 100,000 people in the week ending August 19, which is considered low according to CDC criteria. However, seven counties had high levels of Covid-19 hospitalizations, and 117 counties (approximately 3.6% of the country) were in the medium threshold, with a quarter of them located in Florida.
A new variant, BA.2.86, has garnered attention from scientists due to its high mutation rate, but it has thus far been detected in only a small number of individuals worldwide. Nonetheless, experts are concerned about the virus's continuous evolution and its ability to find new ways to infect and spread among humans.