White House press secretary Jen Psaki has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been quarantined from President Biden and other members of the president’s staff, she revealed in a statement Sunday.
Psaki, who has been fully vaccinated, said on Twitter that she has only experienced mild symptoms and was last in contact with the president on Tuesday. They were in an outdoor setting with both of them adhering to social distancing and wearing masks. She has since quarantined after members of her family tested positive this past week, and while Biden is out of the country for a G20 summit and the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.
Psaki said she disclosed the positive test for the sake of transparency and that she will work remotely until 10 days after she receives a negative rapid test. Such protocols are beyond CDC guidance and have been adopted by the Biden Administration out of an “abundance of caution,” according to the press secretary.
Psaki’s breakthrough case comes 12 days after Homeland Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas tested positive for the virus. While COVID-19 vaccines do not guarantee complete immunity from the virus, the CDC has reported that vaccinated individuals are eight times less likely to be infected and 25 times less likely to be hospitalized or die from the virus. 67% of Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 58% fully vaccinated.
