Biden daughter tests positive, skips Latin America trip

Ashley Biden, the daughter of President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, has COVID-19 and is no longer accompanying her mother on a trip through Latin America, the White House said Wednesday.

She is not considered a close contact to either of her parents, said Michael LaRosa, the first lady’s spokesperson. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said it had been “several days” since the president and first lady last saw their daughter.

Ashley Biden’s positive test result was announced just before Jill Biden’s flight Wednesday to Ecuador, the first stop on her six-day Latin America trip. The first lady also planned to visit Panama and Costa Rica before returning next week.

It’s the second time that the coronavirus has caused Ashley Biden, 40, to miss out on traveling abroad with her mother. In May, a close contact tested positive, causing her to cancel a trip to Eastern Europe.