Jill Biden: US first lady tests positive for Covid-19 in 'rebound' case

President Joe Biden considered a 'close contact' but tested negative on Wednesday

For US President Joe Biden's inauguration, Jill Biden wore a custom dress and overcoat by Markarian on January 20, 2021. EPA

Jill Biden, in lemon tree-patterned Oscar de la Renta, with President Joe Biden as they marked his 100th day in office on April 29, 2021. Reuters

Queen Rania of Jordan and Jill Biden, wearing a white dress and blazer, at the White House on July 19, 2021. AP Photo

Jill Biden, in floral Gabriela Hearst, and the second gentleman Douglas Emhoff react as US President Joe Biden speaks during a joint session of Congress in Washington on April 28, 2021. Bloomberg

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, wearing Gabriela Hearst, pose for a photo with family members at the Celebrating America concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on January 20, 2021, after his inauguration. AP Photo

Jill Biden, wearing a military-style coat, walks across the South Lawn to the White House on March 21, 2021. AFP

Jill Biden, in a geometric green and black dress, arrives at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on April 23, 2021. AFP

Jill Biden, wearing a white Akris dress, hot pink L'Agence blazer and Valentino slingbacks, with Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge in Cornwall on June 11, 2021. Reuters

Jill Biden, wearing a Brandon Maxwell jacket with the word 'love' on the back with a Brandon Maxwell dress, in Cornwall, England on June 10, 2021. AFP

Jill Biden wears a pink co-ordinated dress and jacket to mark Equal Pay Day with President Joe Biden on March 24, 2021 in Washington, DC. Getty Images

Jill Biden, wearing a white dress and grey duster coat, boards Marine One with President Joe Biden on May 3, 2021. AFP

President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, in a red dress and shoes, arrive at the leaders' welcome during the G7 Summit in Cornwall on June 11, 2021. EPA

Jill Biden, in a powder blue dress and blazer, with Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to Windsor Castle on June 13, 2021 in England. Getty Images

Jill Biden, in a zebra-print dress and jacket, attends a vaccination pop-up in Nashville with singer Brad Paisley on June 22, 2021. AFP

Jill Biden, in a navy shift dress, and President Joe Biden walk the White House South Lawn on July 1, 2021. AFP

Jill Biden, in a belted floral Oscar de la Renta dress, arrives in Savannah, Georgia on July 8, 2021. AFP

Jill Biden, in a coral layered dress, arrives in Japan ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on July 22, 2021. Reuters

Jill Biden rewears a monochrome polka dot Brandon Maxwell dress prior to the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on July 23, 2021 in Japan. Getty Images

Jill Biden, in head-to-toe red, visits the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, Illinois on October 12, 2021. AFP

Jill Biden, wearing a matching navy dress and blazer, arrives at the San Damaso Courtyard for a meeting with Pope Francis on October 29, 2021 in Vatican City. Getty Images

Jill Biden, in a belted navy dress and jacket, attends a Veterans Day event in Arlington, Virginia on November 11, 2021. AFP

Jill Biden is dressed down in jeans and a jumper as she walks with her granddaughter Natalie Biden, across the White House South Lawn on March 14, 2021. AFP

Jill Biden, in a coordinated brown suit, speaks in Grand Rapids, Michigan on May 27, 2021. AFP

Jill Biden, in a lilac shift dress, speaks in Phoenix, Arizona on June 30, 2021. AFP

Jill Biden wore Oscar de la Renta on the cover of the August 2021 edition of 'Vogue'. Photo: Vogue / Instagram

US first lady Jill Biden on Wednesday tested positive for Covid-19 in a case of “rebound” positivity, the White House said in a statement.

She is not experiencing any symptoms but she will re-enter isolation in Delaware, where she is currently located.

“After testing negative on Tuesday, just now, the first lady has tested positive for Covid-19 by antigen testing,” her deputy communications director Kelsey Donohue said.

The White House confirmed that it is likely to be a “rebound” case experienced after she tested negative following a full course of Pfizer's five-day paxlovid antiviral treatment.

Ms Biden first tested positive two weeks ago at the end of a Biden family holiday on August 16 and remained in South Carolina in isolation. She experienced “cold-like symptoms” and took paxlovid.

After five days of isolation, the first lady tested negative twice on Sunday and left South Carolina to join Mr Biden in Delaware.

The Bidens have both received four doses of Covid-19 vaccine.

The White House said Mr Biden tested negative on Wednesday but as a “close contact” of the first lady's, he will wear a face mask around others or while in indoor spaces for the next 10 days.

The president battled Covid-19 for two weeks in July, during which he also experienced a “rebound” case after taking paxlovid.

The Biden administration says that “rebound” cases are rare, but limited research suggests it is more common than previously thought: a team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, conducted a study that found that more than a quarter of participants experienced “rebound” symptoms after taking paxlovid. The study, however, has not yet been peer reviewed.

Paxlovid is still recommended as an initial treatment since it overwhelmingly helps prevent severe illness, hospital admission and death.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recommended that doctors prescribe it a second time if individuals test positive again.

“There is no evidence of benefit at this time for a longer course of treatment [ …] or repeating a treatment course of paxlovid in patients with recurrent Covid-19 symptoms following completion of a treatment course,” John Farley, the director of the FDA Office of Infectious Diseases, said in an interview in May.

The FDA last week ordered Pfizer to study whether infected people should take longer courses of paxlovid.

World leaders with Covid-19 — in pictures