Ashley Biden, the daughter of President Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, tested positive for the coronavirus and will not travel with the first lady to Latin America this week, the White House announced on Wednesday.
Mrs. Biden, 40, was supposed to be with Dr. Biden travel to Ecuador. dr. Biden will also visit Panama and Costa Rica before returning to Washington on Monday.
Ms. Biden was not considered to be in close contact with the first couple, said Michael LaRosa, a spokesperson for the first lady. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday that President Biden had not seen his daughter in “several days.”
A close contact is someone who has been less than two meters away from an infected person for at least 15 minutes during a 24-hour period, according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ms. Biden is one of a handful of prominent people in the president’s orbit who recently tested positive for the coronavirus, renewing concerns about President Biden’s possible exposure, although none have been considered close contacts. White House domestic policy adviser Susan Rice tested positive last week.
This is the second scheduled trip with the first lady that Ms. Biden will miss in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Ms. Biden reportedly said Dr. Joining Biden on her trip to Eastern Europe to visit Ukrainian refugees, but on the night of the trip, the White House said Ms Biden had been in close contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.