WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Monday lifted its COVID-19 testing requirement for those who plan to be in close contact with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses, ending the last protocol of coronavirus prevention at the White House.
The White House said the change aligns its policies with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency last week softened its recommendation that those who test positive for COVID-19 isolate for five days. Now, the agency says people can return to work or regular activities if their symptoms are mild and improving and it has been a day since they had a fever.
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The White House testing protocol was instituted shortly after the pandemic began in 2020, when former President Donald Trump was in the White House. It was further strengthened by the Biden administration when he took office amid the pandemic in January 2021.
Both Trump and Biden contracted the virus while in office. Trump required hospitalization after falling seriously ill weeks before the 2020 presidential election; Biden had minimal symptoms after catching it in the summer of 2022 after being vaccinated.
In the United States, more than 1.18 million people have died from COVID-19, according to CDC data, and 6.85 million have been hospitalized over the past four years. More than 270 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. Vaccines have helped significantly reduce cases of severe illness and death since becoming widely available in early 2021.
