Biden to mask up indoors again after negative COVID test

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Biden masking indoors after first lady Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre updated reporters on Tuesday after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time on Sept. 5, 2023. 

President Biden will wear a facemask indoors when around other people after his wife, first lady Jill Biden, tested positive for COVID-19, the White House said Tuesday.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gave an update on the first lady's condition Tuesday afternoon, telling reporters she has experienced "mild symptoms" since testing positive for the coronavirus on Monday. She said that President Biden has tested negative and is not experiencing symptoms. 

"I can tell you that the first lady is experiencing mild symptoms and will remain in Delaware for the week," Jean=Pierre said. "President Biden tested negative last night for COVID-19 and tested negative again today." 

Though Biden does not have COVID-19, Jean-Pierre said "he will be masking while indoors and around people in alignment with CDC guidance." 

FIRST LADY JILL BIDEN TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 FOR SECOND TIME

President Biden removes his mask to speak to the members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. Biden will wear a mask indoors again after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 4, 2023.  (Yuri Gripas/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"As has been the practice in the past, the president will remove his mask when sufficiently distant from others indoors and while outside as well," she added.

There are currently no updates to the White House COVID-10 protocols. 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says those exposed to individuals with COVID-19 should begin wearing a face mask immediately, regardless of vaccination status. COVID-19 can still develop up to 10 days after exposure, according to the CDC.

Precautions those exposed to COVID-19 should take include wearing a mask "any time you are around others inside your home or indoors in public," and watching for symptoms like fever of cough. 

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First lady Jill Biden speaks during a panel on cancer during a visit to the Mays Cancer Center, Feb. 23, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas. (SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images)

Anyone who develops symptoms should isolate immediately and get tested, staying home until they know their test results. 

The CDC guidelines recommend a combination of masking testing and monitoring for symptoms," Jean-Pierre said. "The president is doing all of that in close consultation with his physician." 

Jill Biden is currently staying at the family's home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, while she recovers from the coronavirus. 

The first lady is double-vaccinated, twice boosted, according to a statement from her communications director last year. President Biden received each of his four COVID-19 shots publicly. 

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Signage stands outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, on Saturday, March 14, 2020.  (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The last time the 72-year-old tested positive for the virus was in August 2022. At the time, she was staying at a private residence in South Carolina.

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

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The White House said safe and updated COVID-19 vaccines will be available mid-September to combat any resurgence of COVID going into the fall and winter. Jean-Pierre encouraged Americans to get their updated shots in addition to the annual flu shot and RSV vaccines. 

Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report.