Canada’s Justin Trudeau tests positive for COVID-19 again

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared on Monday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 a second time and will be isolating.

“I’ve tested positive for COVID-19. I’ll be following public health guidelines and isolating. I feel okay, but that’s because I got my shots. So, if you haven’t, get vaccinated – and if you can, get boosted. Let’s protect our healthcare system, each other, and ourselves,” Trudeau tweeted.

Trudeau previously tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of January, along with two of his children.

Trudeau’s infection comes just days after he attended the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, along with President Biden, first lady Jill Biden and Los Angeles Mayor Gavin Newsom (D), who himself had tested positive for the coronavirus late last month.

During the summit, Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, met with the Bidens and shook both of their hands while unmasked. Canada’s first lady previously contracted COVID-19 in 2020.

Various members of Biden’s cabinet have recently tested positive for COVID-19; however, none of them have been considered a close contact of the president’s, even when they recently attended events together.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a close contact occurs when a person is in the presence of another person with a confirmed case of COVID-19 for a minimum cumulative period of 15 minutes.

Trudeau’s meeting with the Bidens was four days ago, making it possible that he was already infected but not yet showing symptoms.

When reached for comment by The Hill, the White House said it did not consider Biden’s meeting with Trudeau last week to be a close contact.

This story was updated at 1:45 p.m.