Aide’s test positive; Biden under watch

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden was in close contact with an aide who later tested positive for covid-19, the White House said Monday night.

Biden, 79, tested negative Monday morning and will be tested again Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. She said the president will continue with his daily schedule since current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not require fully vaccinated individuals to quarantine after an exposure.

News of the close contact comes amid a wave of new coronavirus cases in the United States, with the highly contagious omicron variant growing dominant.

The White House did not identify the individual who tested positive. Psaki described the person as “a mid-level staff member who does not regularly have contact with the President.”

The staffer, who is “fully vaccinated and boosted,” had spent about 30 minutes Friday with Biden aboard Air Force One and tested negative before boarding the flight, in accordance with White House protocols, Psaki said.

The individual did not experience any symptoms until Sunday and tested positive Monday morning, she said.

“Others on Air Force One who were in close contact with this staff member are being contacted and will be advised to get tested per CDC guidance,” Psaki said. “The President is tested on a regular basis. As part of that regular testing, the President received an antigen test Sunday, and tested negative.”

Biden is expected to deliver remarks today about the administration’s latest efforts to combat the pandemic.

At a news conference earlier Monday, Psaki told reporters that Biden will not be unveiling new restrictions.

“This is not a speech about locking the country down,” she said.

Instead, he will announce a plan to set up testing sites across the country, partly modeled on the Federal Emergency Management Agency-run vaccination sites that the administration deployed during its vaccination campaign, according to people familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss them.

The president will also detail steps to bolster the capacity of hospitals, many of which are expected to be inundated in coming weeks.