White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki Has COVID-19

MONDAY, Nov. 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that she has tested positive for COVID-19 and has mild symptoms.

Psaki said she was last in contact with President Joe Biden on Tuesday at the White House, where they wore masks and stayed more than 6 feet apart, the Associated Press reported.

Biden, who got his COVID-19 booster shot on Sept. 27, had his most recent test on Saturday and it was negative, according to the White House.

Psaki was supposed to accompany Biden to Europe for the Group of 20 summit and the U.N. climate summit, but canceled those plans after learning that members of her household had tested positive for COVID-19, the AP reported.

"Since then, I have quarantined and tested negative [via PCR] for COVID on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday," Psaki said in a statement released Sunday, the AP reported. "However, today, I tested positive for COVID."

"While I have not had close contact in person with the President or senior members of the White House staff since Wednesday – and tested negative for four days after that last contact — I am disclosing today's positive test out of an abundance of transparency," Psaki said.

She said she would return to work in person after a 10-day quarantine and a negative rapid test.

All White House staff and others traveling with the president are fully vaccinated and have had daily tests for COVID-19 since leaving the United States, the AP reported.

More information

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