US First Lady Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19, Joe Biden tested negative

WASHINGTON: US First Lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, her communications director Elizabeth Alexander said in a statement. However, she is experiencing only mild symptoms as of now and will remain at the couple's home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for the time being.

"This evening, the First Lady tested positive for COVID-19. She is currently experiencing only mild symptoms. She will remain at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware," Elizabeth Alexander said. Meanwhile, President Biden was also administered a COVID test and he tested negative. The US President will continue to monitor symptoms throughout the week.

"Following the First Lady’s positive test for COVID-19, President Biden was administered a COVID test this evening. The President tested negative. The President will test at a regular cadence this week and monitor for symptoms," a White House Press release said.

In recent weeks, there has been an increase in Covid instances and hospitalisations in the United States. The new COVID-19 variant EG.5 is on the rise in the US. The variant is causing about 17 per cent of the new COVID-19 cases in the country compared to 16 per cent for the next most common lineage, XBB.1.16, according to the latest estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CNN reported.

The new variant is a spinoff of the XBB recombinant strain of the Omicron family. It was in August last year that US first lady, Jill Biden tested positive for a rebound case of COVID-19.

Notably, US President Joe Biden is slated to be in India this week to attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi. He will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 8, on the sidelines of the summit, the White House recently announced.

To a question from a reporter if he was looking forward to his visits to India and Vietnam, Biden replied, "Yes, I am." During the summit in the national capital on September 9 and 10, Biden will commend PM Modi for his leadership of the G20, the White House said earlier this week.

“The President will travel to New Delhi, India to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit. On Friday, the President will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the White House said in its week-ahead schedule of the President released on September 7.

On August 29, White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre said that US President Joe Biden will “reaffirm US commitment to the G20” as the premier forum of economic cooperation globally and will also speak about a range of issues, including the social effects of Russia's war in Ukraine, the White House said on Tuesday.

Karine Jean Pierre made the remarks during a media briefing. Announcing the US President’s schedule, Pierre said Biden “will travel to Hanoi, Vietnam, on September 10 following his participation in the G20 Summit in New Delhi".