Topline
Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, but has no symptoms and is not considered a close contact to President Joe Biden, according to a statement from her office.
Key Facts
Kirsten Allen, Harris’ press secretary, said in a statement Harris tested positive on both rapid and PCR tests.
Harris, who is fully vaccinated and doubly boosted, is not considered to be a close contact of Biden or First Lady Jill Biden because of “their respective recent travel schedules,” Allen said.
Harris, 57, will isolate and work from the vice president’s residence, and will return to the White House once she tests negative.
Tangent
The vice president’s diagnosis comes after Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) also announced they had tested positive for Covid earlier Tuesday, the latest in a string of cases in the nation’s capital. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), 82, tested positive earlier this month, hours before D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a positive test, and a day before Attorney General Merrick Garland said he had tested positive for the virus. Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, tested positive in mid-March, along with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
Big Number
510. That’s how many new Covid cases were reported in Washington, D.C., on April 23, up 63% from the month prior, according to Johns Hopkins University. Cases have turned upward since the beginning of April after a decline since the Omicron spike began to wane in mid-December.
Further Reading
Nancy Pelosi Tests Positive For Covid (Forbes)
Doug Emhoff, Vice President's Husband, Tests Positive for the Coronavirus (The New York Times)
Covid cases in D.C. region quietly rise again, fueled by BA.2 (The Washington Post)
