Kamala Harris
Kamala HarrisChris Kleponis/POOL via CNP/InSt via Reuters Connect

A staff member of US Vice President Kamala Harris, with whom she came in close contact on Tuesday, tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, Harris’ spokesperson Symone Sanders said in a statement.

“On Wednesday morning, a staff member who staffed the Vice President throughout the day Tuesday received a positive test result for COVID-19. Yesterday, Monday and every day last week, this staff member tested negative for COVID-19. This staff member is fully vaccinated and boosted and did not experience symptoms. Others who were in close contact with this staff member are being contacted and will be advised to get tested per CDC guidance,” said Sanders.

She noted that Harris is tested on a regular basis and tested negative for the virus in an antigen test on Wednesday morning.

“Earlier today, after being notified of the staffer’s positive test, the Vice President received a PCR test and tested negative. She will be tested again on Friday then again on Monday per CDC guidance,” said the statement.

Harris will continue with her daily schedule and will depart for Los Angeles on Wednesday evening, where she and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will remain through the New Year.

Earlier this week, President Joe Biden came in close contact with a White House staffer who subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. The President subsequently tested negative.

The mid-level staff member, who was not identified, spent 30 minutes with Biden on Air Force One on Friday on a trip from South Carolina to Philadelphia. The staffer is fully vaccinated and received a booster.

The White House regularly tests those who come in close contact with Biden and has managed to keep cases among high-level officials low, but some individuals in the President’s orbit have tested positive for the virus, including White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was forced to cut a trip short following news that a member of the traveling press pool had tested positive for COVID-19.

In late September, State Department spokesperson Ned Price tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing symptoms.

Before testing positive, Price had been in close contact with Blinken during his meetings at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Blinken tested negative at the time.

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who is vaccinated against COVID-19, tested positive for the virus several weeks before that and self-isolated at home.