Joe Biden.Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty
PresidentJoe Bidenhas come in close contact with an aide who tested positive for COVID-19.
In a statement on Monday, the White Houseconfirmedthat “a mid-level staff member, who does not regularly have contact with the President, received a positive result for a COVID-19 test.”
On Friday, Biden had spent “approximately 30 minutes in proximity to” the staffer on Air Force One, according to a statement from press secretary Jen Psaki.
“This staff member is fully vaccinated and boosted, and tested negative prior to boarding Air Force One, as is required for everyone traveling with the President,” the statement read. “This staff member did not begin to experience symptoms until Sunday and was tested on Monday.”
Psaki said the president — who is “tested regularly” — received a negative PCR test on Monday. He will be tested again on Wednesday.
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“As CDC guidance does not require fully vaccinated people to quarantine after an exposure, the President will continue with his daily schedule,” the statement concluded.
The news comes as the omicron variant of COVID-19continues to sweep the nation and the world, accounting for a majority of reported cases in the United States last week.
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This represents a significant increase in the spread of omicron across the country. The week prior, omicron accounted for just 12 percent of cases in the U.S., the CDC reported.
Also on Monday, the president tweeted from his own account regarding the new variant,writing: “Folks, Omicron cases are on the rise in the United States. I want to give you all a sense of where we are and what we know.”
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“1. We know that vaccines are working. If you are boosted with Pfizer or Moderna, you have a high degree of protection against severe illness with Omicron. If you’re an adult choosing to be unvaccinated, you will face an extremely difficult winter for your family and community,” he continued.
“2. Omicron cases will increase in the coming days—even among fully vaccinated individuals. If you’re vaccinated and boosted, you may still get a breakthrough case but doctors say you will likely have no symptoms or mild ones,” he concluded.
Last month, the CDC expanded its vaccine booster recommendations for Americans following thearrival of the Omicron variantin North America.
The spread of the variant “further emphasizes the importance of vaccination, boosters, and prevention efforts needed to protect against COVID-19,” the CDC said. “Early data from South Africa suggest increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant, and scientists in the United States and around the world are urgently examining vaccine effectiveness related to this variant.”
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
