Queen Elizabeth II Has COVID-19

MONDAY, Feb. 21, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Queen Elizabeth II has mild, cold-like symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19, according to Buckingham Palace.

It added that despite the diagnosis on Sunday, the 95-year-old queen will continue with "light" duties at Windsor Castle over the coming week, the Associated Press reported.

“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines,” the palace said in a statement.

The queen, who is fully vaccinated and has had a booster shot, marked 70 years on the throne on Feb. 6 and will turn 96 on April 21, the AP reported.

The queen is likely to be given one of several antiviral drugs approved in the U.K. to treat COVID-19, Paul Hunter, an infectious disease specialist at the University of East Anglia, told the AP.

“If you do get them early enough, it does reduce the risk of severe disease developing, so I would imagine any doctor for a patient in their 90s would be considering giving these antivirals,” he told the AP.

The Queen's eldest son Prince Charles, 73, and daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, 74, both contracted COVID-19 earlier this month, and it's believed there have been several recent cases among staff at Windsor Castle, where the queen is staying.

People in the U.K. who test positive for COVID-19 must self-isolate for at least five days, although the British government plans to lift that requirement for England this week.

More information

Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on COVID-19.