White House press secretary Jen Psaki tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, multiple news outlets reported Sunday.
Psaki, who is vaccinated, said in a statement that opted not to travel with President Biden and other staff members to Europe on Thursday after a member of her household tested positive for the virus.
“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, according to CNN. “I last saw the President on Tuesday, when we sat outside more than six-feet apart, and wore masks.”
Psaki said has mild symptoms and will return to work after a 10-day quarantine following a negative test.
President Biden left for Europe on Thursday. He has since met with the pope and Group of 20 leaders in Rome, and is scheduled to attend the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow on Monday and Tuesday before returning to Washington, D.C.
Psaki is the highest-ranking White House official to publicly disclose they contracted the virus. She last held a press briefing with reporters on Wednesday at the White House.
