Since his doctor expects him to recover quickly from his mild symptoms due to his recent vaccination and coronavirus booster injections, President Biden has been quarantined at the White House since his positive COVID-19 test came back on Thursday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the president’s diagnosis by saying that he has begun taking Paxlovid, a Pfizer antiviral therapy. Mr. Biden’s positive coronavirus test marks the first time he has been infected with the virus.
“Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” she said. “He has been in contact with members of the White House staff by phone this morning, and will participate in his planned meetings at the White House this morning via phone and Zoom from the residence.”
Biden tweeted that he is “doing great” and “staying busy” while preparing for the vice presidential run in 2016.
“Thanks for your concern. Just called Senator Casey, Congressman Cartwright, and Mayor Cognetti (and my Scranton cousins!) to send my regrets for missing our event today,” he tweeted, referencing remarks he was poised to deliver in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor wrote in a letter that Mr. Biden’s coronavirus diagnosis had been verified by a PCR test after an antigen test revealed its presence. He has a runny nose, a dry cough, and exhaustion.
After receiving his first and second Pfizer doses in December 2020 and January 2021, the president has had two booster shots since then, the most recent of which was at the end of March. As most well-protected patients do, O’Connor expects the president “will respond well, as most do” to therapy.
When Jean-Pierre had his most recent COVID-19 screening, the result was negative on Tuesday, he added. An anti-COVID-19 test performed Thursday morning in Delaware by the First Lady’s spokesperson Michael LaRosa came out negative. In an interview with reporters in Detroit on Thursday, the First Lady acknowledged that she had a negative pregnancy test.
The first lady said, “I talked to him just a few minutes ago, “He’s doing fine, he’s feeling good.”
According to Jean-Pierre, Mr. Biden will continue to “work in isolation” until he is found to be negative, at which point he will resume working face-to-face. It’s “out of an abundance of transparency” that the White House will publish daily updates on the president’s condition, she said.
He was scheduled to make two stops in Pennsylvania on Thursday: Wilkes-Barre, where he would deliver remarks announcing a crime reduction plan, and Philadelphia, where the Democratic National Committee will have a fundraiser. As a result, he will no longer be departing from the White House.
President Trump’s medical team advised Vice President Kamala Harris, who was diagnosed with SARS earlier this year and will wear a face mask while in North Carolina, that she do so. On Thursday morning, she was found to be negative for COVID-19 and was last seen with Vice President Biden on Tuesday, according to reports. Over Thursday, the president and vice president chatted on the phone.
Obama’s first trip to the Middle East and a speech on climate change were just two days apart when it was announced that he had cancer. Members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both Democrats, were on Air Force One with Vice President Biden.
Jean-Pierre added that the White House Medical Unit will advise all of Mr. Biden’s close contacts, including those who had touched with the president on Wednesday, of his positive test results. The president met with a number of elected officials in Somerset, Massachusetts, on Wednesday.
Since the beginning of the epidemic, the president has remained free of COVID-19, despite the fact that several members of his administration and prominent parliamentarians have been diagnosed with the virus.
In April, Harris was found to be positive for COVID-19. Speaker Nancy Pelosi caught the illness earlier that month after sharing the stage with President Joe Biden at two White House engagements. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo have all tested positive for COVID-19.
As soon as he announced his illness, the president received good wishes from Democrats and Republicans, as well as from other foreign leaders.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted, “I was saddened to hear that President Biden has tested positive for COVID-19.” “Wishing him a speedy recovery.”
Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi, the British and Indian prime ministers, sent their best wishes and hopes for a speedy recovery to Vice President Joe Biden.
The number of new COVID-19 cases is steadily rising as a result of the BA.5 subvariant, and infections are increasing in several states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the number of hospitalizations from the coronavirus among Americans ages 70 and older has reached its highest level since February.
While the COVID-19 Community Level in Washington, DC, has been categorized as a medium, President Bidens administration has urged all Americans in indoor public venues, including schools, to wear face masks to protect themselves.
According to Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who served as the Food and Drug Administration’s former commissioner, expected cases of BA.5 are underreported because it has the ability to circumvent protection gained through vaccination or earlier infection.
The majority of Americans, he asserted, “have begun to accept this as a part of daily life.”
This story was written by Alex Tin.
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