WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden tested negative for COVID-19 after he was notified that a mid-level White House staff member who spent about 30 minutes near him on Air Force One on Friday tested positive on Monday morning, the White House said.
A PCR test Biden received on Monday after being notified of the case came back negative, as did an antigen test he received on Sunday as part of his regular testing, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement.
Because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines do not require fully vaccinated people to quarantine after an exposure, Psaki said, Biden, 79, “will continue with his daily schedule.”
The staff member “had spent approximately 30 minutes in proximity to the President on Air Force One, on the way from Orange, South Carolina to Philadelphia” on Friday, Psaki said.
The staff member is fully vaccinated and boosted, had tested negative before boarding Air Force One and did not begin to experience symptoms until Sunday, she said.
Psaki did not identify the staff member, who she said does not regularly have contact with Biden.
Others on Air Force One who were in close contact with the staff member are being contacted and will be advised to get tested, she said.
(Reporting by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
