White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Sunday said she tested positive for COVID-19, though said she had not had close contact with President Joe Biden or senior White House members since Wednesday.
Psaki opted not to make the trip to Europe for the G-20 Summit with Biden on Thursday because a member of her household tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday.
"While I have not had close contact in person with the President or senior members of the White House staff since Wednesday — and tested negative for four days after that last contact — I am disclosing today’s positive test out of an abundance of transparency," she said in a statement. "I last saw the President on Tuesday, when we sat outside more than six-feet apart, and wore masks."
Psaki, who is fully vaccinated, is the highest-ranking White House official to have contracted COVID-19.
The Biden administration has not mandated COVID-19 vaccines for White House staff though every official has been offered one, Psaki said in July. She has not specified how many White House officials have been vaccinated, but said the administration is able to track the number of individuals on the president’s staff because “they are vaccinated here in the White House medical unit.”
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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