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    Wednesday, May 22, 2024

    White house press secretary Jen Psaki tests positive for COVID-19

    White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds the daily briefing on Oct. 27. (Washington Post photo by Demetrius Freeman)

    ROME - White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that she has tested positive for the coronavirus but that she is experiencing only "mild symptoms."

    Psaki had been scheduled to travel with President Joe Biden on his overseas trip to Italy and Scotland but dropped out just before Air Force One took off from Joint Base Andrews on Thursday, citing a "family emergency." The emergency was that members of her household had tested positive for the coronavirus, she said.

    Psaki said she received negative results for COVID-19 on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday but tested positive Sunday, which she was disclosing "out of an abundance of transparency."

    Psaki said that she has not been in close contact with White House aides since Wednesday and that she last saw Biden on Tuesday, when they sat outside, masked and more than 6 feet apart.

    "Thanks to the vaccine, I have only experienced mild symptoms, which has enabled me to continue working from home," Psaki said, adding that she will return to work in person at the White House after her 10-day quarantine period ends and when she tests negative.

    Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House principal deputy press secretary, replaced Psaki on the trip.

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