Biden tests negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday, will mask around others

President Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday and will wear a mask while around others indoors after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for the virus a day earlier, the White House said.

The first lady is experiencing “mild symptoms” after testing positive Monday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. She will remain in Delaware to quarantine.

The president was tested for the virus Monday and again Tuesday, and he tested negative both days. He is not experiencing any symptoms, Jean-Pierre said.

Biden “will be masking while indoors and while around people, in alignment with CDC guidance,” Jean-Pierre said, and he will not wear a mask when he is sufficiently distanced from others and while outdoors.

The White House has said he will otherwise maintain a “regular” testing cadence in light of the first lady’s positive test.

The president is scheduled to leave Thursday for a trip to New Delhi, India, for the Group of 20 Summit. He will remain there for three days before traveling to Vietnam to meet with leaders there.

Jean-Pierre said Biden would take a COVID-19 test before departing for India, but his testing cadence would otherwise be determined in consultation with his physician. Jean-Pierre noted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls for individuals to use a combination of masking, testing and monitoring symptoms after having a close contact exposure.

The White House did not say whether there are contingency plans for the G-20 should Biden test positive, but noted that leaders have been able to adapt during the last few years.

“We have long experience now from the early days of the administration in managing for situations in which covid plays a role at summits,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. “We’ve seen various leaders at various times participate virtually in events.”

Jill Biden, who contracted COVID-19 last August, tested positive after spending the weekend with the president in Rehoboth Beach, Del. The two also traveled together to Florida on Saturday to tour damage from Hurricane Idalia.

Updated at 2:11 p.m.

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