White House press secretary Jen Psaki tests positive for Covid hours before Biden's Europe trip

Updated

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she tested positive for Covid on Tuesday and will not accompany the president on his coming trip to Europe.

Psaki disclosed her infection in a series of tweets, saying she had two socially distanced meetings with President Joe Biden and adding that “he is not considered a close contact as defined by CDC guidance.”

Biden tested negative by PCR test Tuesday, Psaki added.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki (Al Drago / Reuters)
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki (Al Drago / Reuters)

Psaki said she has experienced only mild symptoms “thanks to the vaccine” and will be working from home until she tests negative and has finished a five-day isolation period.

It is the second time Psaki has announced a Covid infection. She missed a fall trip to Italy and Scotland after members of her household tested positive for Covid, before she later tested positive.

Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, tested positive, leading Harris — who tested negative — to modify her schedule.

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