Biden tested, monitored for COVID-19 after first lady tests positive

President Biden returned to mask-wearing at the White House on Tuesday after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Labor Day, offering a stark reminder of the lingering virus and polarizing methods for trying to control it.

Mr. Biden is testing negative but wore a black mask as he entered the East Room to award the Medal of Honor to U.S. Army Capt. Larry Taylor for his gallantry in the Vietnam War.

“He’s not experiencing any symptoms,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said of Mr. Biden.

Ms. Jean-Pierre said Mr. Biden will wear the mask when he is indoors and close to people but will remove it when he is “sufficiently distanced from others” in line with advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mr. Biden took off his mask during an opening prayer at the medal ceremony, before speaking at the lectern and placing the medal on Capt Taylor. He will be tested for the virus again before leaving for a trip to India for the G-20 summit with global leaders.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said there are procedures in place for leaders to speak virtually if the virus disrupts the G20 trip. He said the president is still on track to attend in person.

Mr. Biden returned to the White House after a Labor Day weekend that included a trip to Florida to survey hurricane damage, a stop at his shore house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and a speech to union workers in Philadelphia.

Mrs. Biden has mild symptoms and will stay in Rehoboth Beach, her spokeswoman, Elizabeth Alexander, said.

She had been scheduled to start the school year this week at Northern Virginia Community College, where she teaches English and writing. The president on Tuesday told reporters his wife was doing well.

The Bidens caught COVID-19 last year. The White House physician prescribed Paxlovid treatment to Mr. Biden and released daily updates while the president worked from the White House residence.

The U.S. is seeing a general surge in COVID-19 cases, prompting isolated businesses and universities to return to mask policies, though society largely has moved on from the coronavirus panic and is treating the illness like a cold or common illness.

The virus tends to have a harsher impact on older persons, however, so any infection in the 80-year-old president will generate some hand-wringing. 

Already, polls show that many Americans fear Mr. Biden is too old to be running for reelection.

So far, the White House hasn’t made any changes to its COVID-19 protocols, beyond Mr. Biden’s mask-wearing.

Sen. J.D. Vance, Ohio Republican, filed legislation Tuesday that bars the federal government from forcing others to wear a mask.

The Freedom to Breathe Act would prohibit the president or any federal official from issuing a mask requirement on domestic air travel, public transit systems, or primary, secondary and postsecondary schools.

The legislation also prohibits air carriers, transit authorities and educational institutions from refusing service to people who don’t want to wear masks.

“We tried mask mandates once in this country. They failed to control the spread of respiratory viruses, violated basic bodily freedom and set our fellow citizens against one another,” Mr. Vance said. “This legislation will ensure that no federal bureaucracy, no commercial airline and no public school can impose the misguided policies of the past.”

The uptick in COVID-19 infections has some people eager to get a booster shot this fall. Drugmakers are expected to release new shots, which are tailored toward new variants, later this month.

“We will be encouraging Americans to get their updated COVID vaccine in addition to their annual flu shot, and also RSV vaccines,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.

The RSV shots from GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer were approved by the Food and Drug Administration earlier this year for use in Americans 60 and older. The Pfizer version can be used in pregnant women to pass immunity to their newborns.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.