White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday revealed she had tested positive for COVID-19, saying the results mean she will no longer join President Joe Biden’s upcoming trip to Europe to discuss Russia’s ongoing attack on Ukraine later this week. 

What You Need To Know

  • White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday revealed she had tested positive for COVID-19

  • Psaki will no longer join President Joe Biden’s upcoming trip to Europe to discuss Russia’s ongoing attack on Ukraine later this week

  • Psaki said she is experiencing mild symptoms, and plans to work from home for a five-day isolation period and will return to work pending a negative test

  • It’s the second time in the past six months that Psaki, who is fully vaccinated, has received a positive PCR test; she also tested positive for COVID-19 in late October

“Today, in preparation for travel to Europe, I took a PCR test this morning,” Psaki said in a statement on Tuesday. “That test came back positive, which means I will be adhering to CDC guidance and no longer be traveling on the President’s trip to Europe.”

 

“I had two socially-distanced meetings with the President yesterday, and the President is not considered a close contact as defined by CDC guidance,” Psaki said Tuesday, adding that Biden tested negative via PCR test the same day. “I am sharing the news of my positive test today out of an abundance of transparency.” 

Psaki said she is experiencing mild symptoms, and plans to work from home for a five-day isolation period and will return to work pending a negative test, per CDC guidance.  

Biden will depart for Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday to meet with NATO and other European allies. Biden will travel to Warsaw, Poland, on Friday, where he will have a bilateral meeting with President Andrzej Duda, where he "will discuss how the United States, alongside our Allies and partners, is responding to the humanitarian and human rights crisis that Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war on Ukraine has created," according to Psaki.

The president is also expected to thank Poland for their efforts in supporting Ukrainian refugees, over 2 million of whom have arrived in the country since Russia first invaded on Feb. 24.

It’s the second time in the past six months that Psaki, who is fully vaccinated, has received a positive PCR test. She also tested positive for COVID-19 in late October, and was similarly unable to travel with the president to Europe. At the time, Biden was traveling to Italy to meet with the Group of 20 leaders.