US first lady Jill Biden on Wednesday tested positive for Covid-19 in a case of “rebound” positivity, the White House said in a statement.
She is not experiencing any symptoms but she will re-enter isolation in Delaware, where she is currently located.
“After testing negative on Tuesday, just now, the first lady has tested positive for Covid-19 by antigen testing,” her deputy communications director Kelsey Donohue said.
The White House confirmed that it is likely to be a “rebound” case experienced after she tested negative following a full course of Pfizer's five-day paxlovid antiviral treatment.
Ms Biden first tested positive two weeks ago at the end of a Biden family holiday on August 16 and remained in South Carolina in isolation. She experienced “cold-like symptoms” and took paxlovid.
After five days of isolation, the first lady tested negative twice on Sunday and left South Carolina to join Mr Biden in Delaware.
The Bidens have both received four doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
The White House said Mr Biden tested negative on Wednesday but as a “close contact” of the first lady's, he will wear a face mask around others or while in indoor spaces for the next 10 days.
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The Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina has hosted PGA golf tournaments and has stellar views of the Atlantic Ocean. Photo: Kiawah Island Golf Resort -
US President Joe Biden rides a bicycle on the beach on Kiawah Island. Reuters -
Mr Biden and a pack of Secret Service agents take a beach ride. AFP -
First lady Jill Biden rides her bicycle along the beach while on vacation on Kiawah Island. AFP -
Mr Biden is an avid bike rider. Reuters -
Mr Biden and his son, Hunter, attend mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on John's Island, South Carolina. AFP -
Hunter Biden, his wife Melissa Cohen and their son Beau follow the presidential couple as they board Marine One at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. Reuters -
Hunter Biden holds his son Beau's hand as they walk down the steps of the aircraft. AP -
The beast, as the presidential limousine is known, goes wherever the Bidens go. AP -
Mr Biden walks with grandson Beau upon their return to Washington. AP -
Mr Biden with daughter-in-law Melissa Cohen leaving the Kiawah Island Beach Club at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. AP -
Mr Biden with son Hunter. AP -
Mr Biden walks on the beach with granddaughter Natalie and daughter Ashley in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. AP -
Mr Biden introduces his granddaughter to the members of the media as they walk on the beach together with daughter Ashley. AP
The president battled Covid-19 for two weeks in July, during which he also experienced a “rebound” case after taking paxlovid.
The Biden administration says that “rebound” cases are rare, but limited research suggests it is more common than previously thought: a team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, conducted a study that found that more than a quarter of participants experienced “rebound” symptoms after taking paxlovid. The study, however, has not yet been peer reviewed.
Paxlovid is still recommended as an initial treatment since it overwhelmingly helps prevent severe illness, hospital admission and death.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recommended that doctors prescribe it a second time if individuals test positive again.
“There is no evidence of benefit at this time for a longer course of treatment [ …] or repeating a treatment course of paxlovid in patients with recurrent Covid-19 symptoms following completion of a treatment course,” John Farley, the director of the FDA Office of Infectious Diseases, said in an interview in May.
The FDA last week ordered Pfizer to study whether infected people should take longer courses of paxlovid.
World leaders with Covid-19 — in pictures
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US President Joe Biden tested positive for Covid-19 in July 2022. Reuters -
Former US president Donald Trump gives the thumbs-up after leaving the Walter Reed Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland, where he was treated for Covid-19 in October 2020. AFP -
Mr Trump removes his mask after returning to the White House from hospital in October 2020. AFP -
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune spent a month in Germany in January 2021, where he had surgery after developing complications linked to Covid-19. AFP -
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II had Covid-19 in February 2022, months before her death. AFP -
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson caught Covid-19 in March 2020. AFP -
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tested positive for Covid-19 a second time in July 2022, six months after he first contracted the virus. Reuters -
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tested positive for Covid-19 in January 2022, after having first contracted the coronavirus in early 2021. AP -
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for Covid-19 in July 2020. Reuters -
Departing Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi contracted the virus that causes Covid-19 in April 2022. EPA
