White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said Biden has started taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug designed to reduce the severity of the disease. He was self-isolating in the White House family residence and “continuing to fully perform all of his duties,” she said. Biden’s doctor, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in a letter that Biden had a runny nose and “fatigue, with occasional dry cough, which began yesterday afternoon.” Biden himself said in a video posted on Twitter: “I really appreciate your questions and your concerns. But I’m doing well, I’m doing a lot of work.” Biden, 79, is fully vaccinated, having received two doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine shortly before taking office, a first booster dose in September and an additional dose on March 30. The president will self-isolate for five days and can return to normal activities after a negative test, White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told reporters at a briefing. Jean-Pierre described the president’s symptoms as “very mild” and said Biden had been in contact with White House staff members by phone and would participate in his scheduled meetings “via phone and Zoom from the residence.” Asked where Biden might have contracted the virus, Jean-Pierre said: “I don’t think that matters.” He later clarified that to say the White House was focused on how the president was feeling and would be involved in contact tracing. WATCH: Biden releases message after testing positive for COVID-19:
Biden released a message after testing positive for COVID-19
Speaking from Washington, US President Joe Biden assured the audience that his symptoms were mild and that he was “doing well, doing a lot of work”. In the video Biden recorded outdoors to tell people he was fine, the videographer was standing six feet away and wearing an N95 mask, Jean-Pierre said. The president will stop taking anti-clotting and anti-cholesterol medications while taking Paxlovid.
The crime prevention trip was cancelled
The White House took steps to show the president was busy at work despite his diagnosis, with Biden tweeting a photo of himself making phone calls from the White House’s conference room. The president spoke by phone with lawmakers in Pennsylvania to apologize for having to cancel a planned trip Thursday to the city of Wilkes-Barre to promote his crime prevention plans. Biden also called South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn to wish him a happy birthday and congratulate him on receiving the award from the NAACP. O’Connor wrote in his letter about the president’s treatment plan: “I anticipate that he will respond favorably” to Paxlovid “as most maximally protected patients do.” When given within five days of the onset of symptoms, Paxlovid, made by pharmaceutical company Pfizer, has been shown to reduce hospitalizations and deaths by 90 percent among patients most likely to develop severe disease. Jean-Pierre said Biden last tested negative on Tuesday and will remain in isolation until he tests negative again. White House chief of staff Ron Klein said in a letter obtained by The Associated Press that “all close contacts of the president” would be informed of Biden’s positive test “in accordance with standard protocol.” “We have said for some time that there was a substantial possibility that the president — like anyone else — could contract COVID, and we have prepared for that eventuality,” Klein wrote to White House staff. “We are now executing our plan so that the president can continue to work seamlessly from the Residence.” First Lady Jill Biden, speaking to reporters as she arrived for a school visit in Detroit, said she had just gotten off the phone with her husband. “He’s doing well,” she said. “It feels good.” Jill Biden visits Schulze Academy in Detroit on Thursday. The first lady, who said she tested negative earlier in the day, said her husband was “doing well.” (Carlos Osorio/The Associated Press) The first lady, who was wearing a mask, said she tested negative earlier in the day. She will maintain her full schedule in Michigan and Georgia on Thursday, although she will follow mask and social distancing guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Michael LaRosa, her spokesman.
He traveled to the Middle East last week
The president spent much of last week in Israel and Saudi Arabia. White House officials told reporters that Biden planned to minimize contact during the trip, but as soon as he stepped off Air Force One on July 13, the president was bumping fists, shaking hands and even being seen in the occasional hug. The CDC says symptoms can appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus. Biden had a minimal public schedule after returning from Saudi Arabia late Saturday night, attended church the next day and helped welcome Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska to the White House on Tuesday. The president traveled to Massachusetts on Wednesday to promote efforts to combat climate change. Up until this point, Biden’s ability to avoid the virus seemed to defy the odds, even with the testing procedures in place for those expected to be in close contact with him. Previous waves of the virus have swept through Washington’s political class, infecting Vice President Kamala Harris, cabinet members, White House officials and lawmakers. Biden has increasingly increased his travel schedule and continues to hold large indoor events where not everyone is tested. A White House official said Harris tested negative for COVID-19. She was last with the president on Tuesday and spoke to him on the phone Thursday morning. Harris planned to remain masked under the guidance of the White House medical team. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she hopes Biden’s positive test for the virus will prompt more Americans to get vaccinated and boosted because “none of us are immune to it, including the president of the United States, and we really have to be careful”. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell wished the president a “speedy recovery” on Twitter.
