- The Washington Times - Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Susan Rice, a White House adviser on domestic policy, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, making her the latest person in President Biden’s orbit to get infected.

Ms. Rice tweeted that she is “feeling fine and grateful to be vaccinated and double boosted.”

She last saw Mr. Biden on Wednesday while wearing a mask and is not considered a close contact of the president under definitions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC defines a close contact as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative 15 minutes in a 24-hour period.

The White House has relied on that definition to reassure the public amid a series of close calls for Mr. Biden.

Vice President Kamala Harris had to self-isolate after testing positive in late April. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Cabinet officials and visiting dignitaries have tested positive after floating in the president’s orbit in recent months.

Mr. Biden, 79, has received four shots of a COVID-19 vaccine, but his advanced age makes some public health experts skittish about his potential exposure to the virus as he tries to move the country out of the pandemic phase of the virus and into a sense of normalcy.

He attended the crowded White House Correspondents Association dinner on April 30 but skipped the dinner portion and only showed up for the ceremony.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.

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