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White House Press Secretary tests positive for COVID-19

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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki

US: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday she has tested positive for Covid-19, after deciding not to travel to Europe with US President Joe Biden when members of her family contracted the virus.

Psaki said in a statement that though she had tested negative several times last week, her test came back positive on Sunday.

“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,” she said in a statement.

“I last saw the president on Tuesday, when we sat outside more than six feet apart, and wore masks.”

Psaki said she had mild symptoms, for which she credited the Covid-19 vaccine, and said she was working from home.

She added that she would quarantine for 10 days before taking another test and eventually returning to the White House.

Psaki is among the highest profile figures in the Biden administration to test positive for the coronavirus.

Biden, 78, was in Rome on Sunday for the G-20 summit and will be in Glasgow on Monday for the COP26 climate summit.

Psaki said earlier this year that the US president, who is fully vaccinated, is tested randomly every two weeks as surveillance, at the request of his physician, Dr Kevin O’Connor. Mr Biden has received three Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 shots, including a booster last month.

Many Americans are still resisting vaccinations, with only 58 per cent of the population fully immunised.

The United States has recorded more than 745,000 deaths from COVID-19.

US health authorities have approved booster shots of the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

– THE STRAITS TIMES

Tuesday, November 2, 2021 – 01:00











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