President Joe Biden has decided to resume wearing a face mask after being in close contact with his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Despite testing negative on Monday night and Tuesday morning, President Biden will adhere to the guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding testing and masking. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the president will wear a mask indoors and around people, but will remove it when he is sufficiently distanced from others or when he is outdoors.
In the meantime, Jill Biden was unable to attend the first day of school as she remains at their Rehoboth Beach home, where she tested positive for the virus. She teaches English at the Northern Virginia Community College and is working with NOVA to arrange for substitute teachers to cover her classes.
Jill Biden is currently experiencing mild symptoms and will stay in Delaware for the week, while President Biden has tested negative for the virus and is asymptomatic. According to Jean-Pierre, there are no updates to the White House COVID-19 protocols at this time.
COVID-19 cases are increasing nationwide, with a nearly 19% rise in hospitalizations and over 21% increase in deaths in late August, as reported by the CDC. Two new variants, namely the Omicron variant EG.5 (Eris) and BA.2.86, are also starting to spread.
It is uncertain when Jill Biden will return to her regular schedule at the White House and her classes. She was supposed to attend a dinner for U.S. athletes competing at the Invictus Games on Tuesday night but had to cancel. Both President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19.
President Biden is expected to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi, India later this week. According to Jean-Pierre, all travelers, including the president, will undergo testing before traveling, and Biden will continue to be regularly tested during his trip. However, it is unclear if the first lady will join him on the trip.
Despite the recent close contact with his wife, President Biden remains COVID-19 negative. The couple spent Sunday night together at their Rehoboth Beach home before President Biden traveled to Philadelphia for a Labor Day speech to union workers. Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19, and her spokesman confirmed that she is experiencing mild symptoms and will remain in Delaware.
Both President Biden and Jill Biden had previously contracted COVID-19 and experienced rebound cases despite receiving treatment with the antiviral Paxlovid. They are fully vaccinated and have received booster shots.
It is noteworthy that while COVID-19 cases are increasing, neither the president nor the first lady have been wearing masks in public recently. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently acknowledged that there is limited data on the effectiveness of masks in stopping the spread of the virus. He stated that while the data may be less strong in terms of the overall impact on the pandemic, individual-level studies suggest that masks may provide some level of protection.
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