Jean-Pierre said Biden would mask indoors when near other people — but then the president awarded the Medal of Honor while maskless

First lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday that President Joe Biden had tested negative for COVID-19 on Monday night and again on Tuesday. She also said that the president is not feeling any symptoms and will wear a face mask while indoors near other people, but will take the mask off when adequately distanced from other individuals.

"This evening, the First Lady tested positive for COVID-19," Jill Biden's communications director, Elizabeth Alexander, noted in a statement on Monday. "She is currently experiencing only mild symptoms. She will remain at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware."

The first lady previously had a bout with COVID-19 last year. In August 2022, Alexander had issued a statement noting that the "double-vaccinated, twice boosted" first lady had tested positive.

Jill Biden later tested negative before testing positive again. "This represents a 'rebound' positivity," the first lady's deputy communications director, Kelsey Donohue, said in an August 2022 statement. "The First Lady has experienced no reemergence of symptoms," Donohue noted.

President Biden did not wear a mask on Tuesday while awarding the Medal of Honor to Captain Larry L. Taylor of the U.S. Army. While the president could be seen wearing a face mask at the start of the event, he removed it during the prayer and then proceeded to deliver remarks at the podium before placing the Medal of Honor around Taylor's neck.

President Biden Awards the Medal of Honor to Captain Larry L. Taylor, for Conspicuous Gallantrywww.youtube.com

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