Deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday following her trip with President Joe Biden to Europe.
“I last saw the President during a socially distanced meeting yesterday, and the President is not considered a close contact as defined by CDC guidance,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “I am sharing the news of my positive test today out of an abundance of transparency.”
Jean-Pierre’s announcement marks the latest high-profile White House official to test positive for COVID-19. White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced on March 22 – just before she was slated to head to Europe with Biden – that she tested positive for the virus and would no longer be traveling.
Psaki previously tested positive for COVID-19 in October 2021, just before another overseas trip for Biden.
Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who traveled with POTUS this week, says she’s tested positive for COVID.
Comes days after Psaki tested positive ahead of Biden’s Europe trip: pic.twitter.com/oJF1YGC4nu
— Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) March 28, 2022
Earlier in March, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff tested positive for COVID-19 as well. Biden has not been considered a close contact for any of these COVID-positive individuals, according to the White House. (RELATED: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Tests Positive For COVID, White House Announces)
Jean-Pierre noted that she is fully vaccinated and boosted and experiencing “mild symptoms.”
The president returned to D.C. early Sunday morning after traveling to Brussels, Belgium, and Warsaw, Poland. He attended an extraordinary NATO Summit and a European Council Summit while in Europe to discuss Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.