Hillary Clinton tests positive for Covid-19

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Tuesday that she had tested positive for Covid-19, and was “feeling fine” despite some mild symptoms, reports CNBC. 

“I’m more grateful than ever for the protection vaccines can provide against serious illness. Please get vaccinated and boosted if you haven’t already!” Clinton, 74, said in a pair of tweets.

She said her husband, former President Bill Clinton, 75, tested negative “and is feeling fine. He’s quarantining until our household is fully in the clear. Movie recommendations appreciated!”

Clinton’s positive test result came the same day White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced she wouldn’t be accompanying President Joe Biden on his upcoming trip to Europe because she tested positive for the virus earlier in the day.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., also announced Tuesday that he’d tested positive for the virus, adding that he was asymptomatic.

“This is reminder that the pandemic is not over,” Casey tweeted. “Please get vaccinated and boosted.”

The virus has been hitting the upper echelons of Washington’s political circles in the past few weeks. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff tested positive for the virus last week, though Vice President Kamala Harris has since tested negative.

Former President Barack Obama announced on March 13 that he’d tested positive for the virus, noting he had a scratchy throat. Like the others, he credited being vaccinated and boosted as the reason he only had mild symptoms.

A subvariant of omicron called BA.2 accounts for nearly 35 percent of Covid-19 cases in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday, a roughly 10 percent increase from the week before, when BA.2 was detected in 23 percent of U.S. cases.

At the same time, coronavirus cases nationwide have fallen almost 24 percent in the past two weeks, according to NBC News’ Covid Data Dashboard.