White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki will not travel with President Joe Biden on his upcoming trip to Europe to meet with NATO leaders in Brussels to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine after she tested positive for COVID, Psaki tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
"I had two socially-distanced meetings with the president yesterday, and he is not considered a close contact as defined by CDC guidance," Psaki said in a second tweet. "I am sharing the news of my positive test today out of an abundance of transparency. The president tested negative today via PCR test."
Psaki said being vaccinated has helped her experience only mild symptoms so far, and said she plans to follow CDC guidelines and work remotely until she can return following five days of isolation and a negative test. White House Deputy Press Secretary Chris Meagher said at Tuesday's press briefing that no other members of the press who have attended recent briefings held by Psaki have been deemed close contacts, adding that the White House is conducting contact tracing and will notify any members of the press if they are identified as close contacts.
Psaki also tested positive, along with other members of her family, prior to Biden traveling to the G-20 Summit in Rome last October and said she suffered from minor symptoms then as well. The White House had announced prior to that trip that she would not be attending due to a "family emergency," which Psaki later confirmed was positive COVID tests among her family, which soon included her own positive test, NPR reported at the time.
Biden is set to travel to Brussels for the NATO summit to discuss the next steps in handling Russia's invasion of Ukraine and to address G-7 leaders and members of the European Union, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at Tuesday's briefing.
After the meetings in Brussels, Sullivan said that Biden will meet with American soldiers in Poland who are prepared to defend NATO territory if Russia expands its invasion, as well as meet with humanitarian leaders coordinating the international response. He will also hold a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Sullivan said.
On Monday, Russian officials issued warnings to Poland ahead of Biden's visit over the "Russophobia" that Russia claimed Poland was displaying under pressure from other countries like the U.S. Later on Monday, Polish officials also discussed placing more sanctions on Russia, including a possible ban on Russian oil and gas imports.
Late last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff said that Biden should meet with Zelensky himself in Ukraine as other officials from countries like Poland have done in recent days, an idea the White House has rejected.
Follow Newsweek's live blog for updates on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Update 3/22/22, 2:37 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information.
