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White House staffer on Air Force One tests positive for COVID. Biden tests negative

A view of the West Wing from the Rose Garden is seen with Christmas lights on Dec. 17, A White House staffer tested positive for COVID on Monday. President Biden has tested negative for the virus.
Brendan Smialowski
/
AFP via Getty Images
A view of the West Wing from the Rose Garden is seen with Christmas lights on Dec. 17, A White House staffer tested positive for COVID on Monday. President Biden has tested negative for the virus.

The White House said that a staff member who traveled on Air Force One on Friday tested positive for COVID on Monday – but said that President Biden has been tested twice so far since having contact with the person, and has tested negative. Biden will be tested again on Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

Psaki said the "mid-level staff member," who was not named, had spent about 30 minutes "in proximity" to Biden on Air Force One between Orange, S.C. and Philadelphia. The staff member is fully vaccinated and boosted, and tested negative before boarding the plane, Psaki said. "This staff member did not begin to experience symptoms until Sunday, and was tested on Monday," Psaki said.

"As CDC guidance does not require fully vaccinated people to quarantine after an exposure, the president will continue with his daily schedule," Psaki said.

Biden is tested regularly for COVID, and received an antigen test on Sunday. On Monday, he received a PCR test, Psaki said. Both were negative. Other people who were in close contact with the staff member will be advised to be tested, she said.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Alana Wise
Alana Wise is a politics reporter on the Washington desk at NPR.

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