Advertisement

White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield tests positive for COVID-19

By Ashley Williams
White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield speaks during a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 31. On Friday, she announced she tested positive for COVID-19, making her the latest top White House official to catch the virus in recent weeks. File Photo by Michael Reynolds/UPI
White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield speaks during a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 31. On Friday, she announced she tested positive for COVID-19, making her the latest top White House official to catch the virus in recent weeks. File Photo by Michael Reynolds/UPI | License Photo

April 29 (UPI) -- White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield has tested positive for COVID-19, she tweeted Friday.

Bedingfield is the latest official to contract the disease after Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive on Tuesday.

Advertisement

Like Harris, Bedingfield shared in her update that President Joe Biden, who is double-vaccinated and boosted, is not a close contact by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards.

A close contact, according to the CDC, requires spending 15 minutes or longer within 6 feet of an infected person.

"I last saw the president Wednesday in a socially distanced meeting while wearing an N-95 mask, and he is not considered a close contact as defined by the CDC," the top-level official said in a tweet.

An asymptomatic Bedingfield wrote in a follow-up tweet that she will adhere to the White House's COVID-19 protocols and work from home for five days until she tests negative.

Along with Harris and Bedingfield, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, press secretary Jen Psaki and principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre have also recently contracted COVID-19.

Advertisement

Prior to her positive test result, Bedingfield was set to attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner scheduled for Saturday, where thousands of government officials -- including President Biden -- reporters and special guests are expected to gather.

The president plans to skip the eating portion of Saturday's dinner in order to reduce his presence as a safety precaution, according to the White House.

Latest Headlines