The White House’s principal deputy press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, announced Sunday that she has tested positive for Covid-19.
Jean-Pierre got the results of a PCR test Sunday afternoon, she said in a statement, and her symptoms are mild.
The results were announced five days after press secretary Jen Psaki said she tested had positive and would miss President Joe Biden’s trip to Europe last week. Jean-Pierre helped fill Psaki’s shoes overseas.
Jean-Pierre said that while she traveled with the president, her proximity to him in recent days would not be considered close contact under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for thwarting the spread of the disease.
Jean-Pierre said attendees practiced social distancing at a meeting she attended with Biden on Saturday.
“I am sharing the news of my positive test today out of an abundance of transparency,” Jean-Pierre said Sunday.
She attributed her mild symptoms to having been vaccinated and boosted.
On the trip, Biden campaigned for a unified front behind Ukraine from U.S. allies and friends in NATO and Europe. He met with world leaders in Brussels before he headed to Poland, where he visited U.S. troops not far from the border with Ukraine and tried to reassure Kyiv that U.S. and NATO forces have its back.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan joined Jean-Pierre for news briefings onboard Air Force One during the trip. It’s not clear who might have had close contact with Jean-Pierre, one of the Biden administration’s top spokespeople.
Biden returned Sunday morning.
Among those in the White House’s sphere who have tested positive recently is Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, who tested positive on March 15.
Before she worked for the Biden White House, Jean-Pierre was a political analyst and commentator for NBC News and MSNBC.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
