“I guess you heard, this morning I tested positive for Covid. But I’ve had a double shot, a double boost. The symptoms are mild and I really appreciate your questions and concerns. But I’m doing well, I’ve been doing a lot of work. I’m still going to finish it and in the meantime, thanks for your concern and keep the faith. It’s going to be okay,” Biden, who was bare-chested while standing outside on the Truman Balcony, said in the 20-second video to White. House says it was filmed by a masked and socially distanced videographer. The mild symptoms and diagnosis protocol for Biden — a 79-year-old double-thrust who is at high risk of serious illness — will mean isolation and “work and rest” at the White House residence for the rest of the day, according to a senior management. This is the first time Biden has tested positive for Covid-19 and last tested negative on Tuesday, according to White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre. Biden has called many people in the hours since his diagnosis. He tweeted Thursday afternoon that he was “doing great” after testing positive and said he called Pennsylvania politicians to express his regret at having to cancel a planned trip to the commonwealth. The tweet was accompanied by an image of the President smiling at a desk, sans mask, in the White House residence. In a memo to staff obtained by CNN, White House chief of staff Ron Klein said Biden would work by phone and conference call for the next few days after the positive result. “I have spoken to him several times this morning already on a number of issues and he is focused on our pending work,” Klein wrote Thursday.
Day Zero
Biden tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday morning and started taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid, which is available through an emergency use license from the US Food and Drug Administration to treat mild to moderate Covid-19 in people 12 years and older who are at high risk of serious illness. It requires a doctor’s prescription.
“In accordance with (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines, he will self-isolate at the White House and continue to fully perform all of his duties during this period,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Thursday marks “Day 0” of the President’s Covid-19 timeline — meaning he will be in isolation until at least next Tuesday per CDC guidelines.
The President’s symptoms include “a runny nose (or ‘runny nose’) and fatigue, with an occasional dry cough, which began yesterday afternoon,” according to a letter from the President’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor. Biden did not have a fever Thursday morning, White House coronavirus coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha.
Jha later told reporters that Biden’s oxygen levels were “normal” as of Thursday morning and that Biden’s Covid-19 sample has been sent to a lab to identify the specific strain he is infected with. Results are expected in “less than a week.”
Biden first tested positive for Covid-19 in an antigen test on Thursday morning as part of a routine examination, and the positive result was later confirmed by a PCR test, his doctor said.
O’Connor also noted that the President met the FDA’s criteria for use of the antiviral Paxlovid, adding, “I anticipate that he will respond positively, as most maximally protected patients do.”
Because of his age, Biden is at increased risk for a more severe case of Covid-19, although the CDC says older adults who are fully vaccinated and boosted greatly reduce their risk of hospitalization and death.
Jha said Thursday that Biden has the “lot of protective measures” to deal with Covid-19 in his advanced age.
“The bottom line is how much immunity he has from the vaccines, given that he started treatments right away … I think all of that reduces the risk of serious illness very dramatically,” Jha told CNN’s Jeff Zeleny during White. Parliament press conference. “And that’s really the goal here, is to prevent serious disease, to keep that risk as low as possible. I think he’s got that full set of protections.”
Biden received the first two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine before his inauguration in January 2021, his first booster in September and his second booster on March 30.
Staff take steps to adjust, Harris and first lady stick to their previous schedules
Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Jill Biden tested negative Thursday.
Jean-Pierre said the West Wing would continue to implement its current protocols, but that White House residential staff would take steps to create a “very minimal footprint” to avoid infecting others.
The number of aides staffing the White House residence will be reduced to a “minimum” in light of Biden’s positive diagnosis for Covid-19, an official told CNN.
And a mid-level West Wing aide who works closely with Biden and was on his recent trip to the Middle East also tested positive for Covid-19, according to two familiar sources. The person is not considered a close contact of the President and tested positive earlier this week.
Harris is expected to maintain her regular schedule while Biden is self-isolating. The senior administration official said there are no plans and no need to hand over executive powers to Harris — as was done last November for 85 minutes while Biden was under anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy.
Harris has been identified as a close contact of Biden, a White House official told CNN. Harris last saw Biden on Tuesday and tested negative on Thursday. It’s close, an additional aide says, because they spent more than 15 minutes together while being briefed on the presidential daily briefing. The White House official added that Harris will follow CDC guidelines for those who have been vaccinated, including wearing a mask when around people for 10 days from the date of the last close contact.
The first lady and vice president said they had both spoken with the president on Thursday after the diagnosis.
Jill Biden told reporters in Detroit earlier Thursday that she spoke with the President and that “he’s doing well. He’s feeling good.”
The first lady, her spokesman Michael LaRosa told CNN, will maintain her original schedule Thursday, which includes a stop in Georgia before heading to Wilmington, Delaware. It’s also double reinforced, LaRosa said.
And on Thursday afternoon, Harris said at an event in North Carolina that the President “is in good spirits.”
“She works from the White House residence and when she spoke she was very happy that we were all together today,” she told her audience, adding that Biden told her to “say hello to everybody.”
The upcoming presidential trip has been canceled
A White House official told CNN that Biden’s planned trip to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, later Thursday for a speech on crime prevention has been canceled. Biden’s DNC fundraiser scheduled for Thursday night has been postponed, officials said. It has not yet been determined whether the event will be rescheduled or whether donors will be asked to make their pledged contributions. Biden was also scheduled to travel to Orlando and Tampa, Florida, on Monday, but is now expected to self-isolate. Biden has stepped up his engagement with the public over the past year as the White House has shifted its approach to the pandemic. On Wednesday, Biden traveled to Somerset, Mass., for an executive action climate event, where he was seen shaking hands and greeting attendees in the outdoor crowd. The President’s positive diagnosis comes less than a week after a swing through the Middle East, where he had meetings with world leaders in Israel and Saudi Arabia. While abroad, Biden was seen shaking hands, pumping fists and hugging other leaders. The White House is currently working on contact tracing for those who may have been in close contact with Biden, according to an official, following his positive Covid test. They plan to brief any close contacts on Thursday, including members of Congress and the press. At least one member of Congress who was in close contact after seeing Biden in Massachusetts received a contact tracing call from the White House on Thursday. The White House contacted the congressman’s office Thursday afternoon, according to a familiar source, and advised the congressman to follow the CDC’s recommendations for what a person should do when determined to be a close contact. One of the recommendations, for example, for someone who is fully vaccinated and comes into close contact is to wear a well-fitting mask while around other people for 10 days from the date of the last close contact.
The White House prepared for this moment
White House officials had been preparing for months for what many saw as an inevitability that Biden would come down with Covid. A wave of cases — involving Harris, White House officials and members of Congress — has swept Washington over the spring and summer. And as more and more of his top officials and family members came down with Covid, officials believed it was possible the President himself would fall ill, even as they took steps to protect him from the virus. Klein, in his memo Thursday to staff, wrote that White House officials “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. We are now executing our plan so that the President can continue to work seamlessly from home.” Biden last underwent an annual physical in November at Walter Reed National Medical Center. O’Connor wrote in a memo at the time that the President remained “fit for duty and fully discharging all his responsibilities without exception or accommodation.” Officials…
title: “Biden Tests Positive For Covid 19 And Has Mild Symptoms " ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-26” author: “Mary Youngman”
“I guess you heard, this morning I tested positive for Covid. But I’ve had a double shot, a double boost. The symptoms are mild and I really appreciate your questions and concerns. But I’m doing well, I’ve been doing a lot of work. I’m still going to finish it and in the meantime, thanks for your concern and keep the faith. It’s going to be okay,” Biden, who was bare-chested while standing outside on the Truman Balcony, said in the 20-second video to White. House says it was filmed by a masked and socially distanced videographer. The mild symptoms and diagnosis protocol for Biden — a 79-year-old double-thrust who is at high risk of serious illness — will mean isolation and “work and rest” at the White House residence for the rest of the day, according to a senior management. This is the first time Biden has tested positive for Covid-19 and last tested negative on Tuesday, according to White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre. Biden has called many people in the hours since his diagnosis. He tweeted Thursday afternoon that he was “doing great” after testing positive and said he called Pennsylvania politicians to express his regret at having to cancel a planned trip to the commonwealth. The tweet was accompanied by an image of the President smiling at a desk, sans mask, in the White House residence. In a memo to staff obtained by CNN, White House chief of staff Ron Klein said Biden would work by phone and conference call for the next few days after the positive result. “I have spoken to him several times this morning already on a number of issues and he is focused on our pending work,” Klein wrote Thursday.
Day Zero
Biden tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday morning and started taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid, which is available through an emergency use license from the US Food and Drug Administration to treat mild to moderate Covid-19 in people 12 years and older who are at high risk of serious illness. It requires a doctor’s prescription.
“In accordance with (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines, he will self-isolate at the White House and continue to fully perform all of his duties during this period,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Thursday marks “Day 0” of the President’s Covid-19 timeline — meaning he will be in isolation until at least next Tuesday per CDC guidelines.
The President’s symptoms include “a runny nose (or ‘runny nose’) and fatigue, with an occasional dry cough, which began yesterday afternoon,” according to a letter from the President’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor. Biden did not have a fever Thursday morning, White House coronavirus coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha.
Jha later told reporters that Biden’s oxygen levels were “normal” as of Thursday morning and that Biden’s Covid-19 sample has been sent to a lab to identify the specific strain he is infected with. Results are expected in “less than a week.”
Biden first tested positive for Covid-19 in an antigen test on Thursday morning as part of a routine examination, and the positive result was later confirmed by a PCR test, his doctor said.
O’Connor also noted that the President met the FDA’s criteria for use of the antiviral Paxlovid, adding, “I anticipate that he will respond positively, as most maximally protected patients do.”
Because of his age, Biden is at increased risk for a more severe case of Covid-19, although the CDC says older adults who are fully vaccinated and boosted greatly reduce their risk of hospitalization and death.
Jha said Thursday that Biden has the “lot of protective measures” to deal with Covid-19 in his advanced age.
“The bottom line is how much immunity he has from the vaccines, given that he started treatments right away … I think all of that reduces the risk of serious illness very dramatically,” Jha told CNN’s Jeff Zeleny during White. Parliament press conference. “And that’s really the goal here, is to prevent serious disease, to keep that risk as low as possible. I think he’s got that full set of protections.”
Biden received the first two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine before his inauguration in January 2021, his first booster in September and his second booster on March 30.
Staff take steps to adjust, Harris and first lady stick to their previous schedules
Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Jill Biden tested negative Thursday.
Jean-Pierre said the West Wing would continue to implement its current protocols, but that White House residential staff would take steps to create a “very minimal footprint” to avoid infecting others.
The number of aides staffing the White House residence will be reduced to a “minimum” in light of Biden’s positive diagnosis for Covid-19, an official told CNN.
And a mid-level West Wing aide who works closely with Biden and was on his recent trip to the Middle East also tested positive for Covid-19, according to two familiar sources. The person is not considered a close contact of the President and tested positive earlier this week.
Harris is expected to maintain her regular schedule while Biden is self-isolating. The senior administration official said there are no plans and no need to hand over executive powers to Harris — as was done last November for 85 minutes while Biden was under anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy.
Harris has been identified as a close contact of Biden, a White House official told CNN. Harris last saw Biden on Tuesday and tested negative on Thursday. It’s close, an additional aide says, because they spent more than 15 minutes together while being briefed on the presidential daily briefing. The White House official added that Harris will follow CDC guidelines for those who have been vaccinated, including wearing a mask when around people for 10 days from the date of the last close contact.
The first lady and vice president said they had both spoken with the president on Thursday after the diagnosis.
Jill Biden told reporters in Detroit earlier Thursday that she spoke with the President and that “he’s doing well. He’s feeling good.”
The first lady, her spokesman Michael LaRosa told CNN, will maintain her original schedule Thursday, which includes a stop in Georgia before heading to Wilmington, Delaware. It’s also double reinforced, LaRosa said.
And on Thursday afternoon, Harris said at an event in North Carolina that the President “is in good spirits.”
“She works from the White House residence and when she spoke she was very happy that we were all together today,” she told her audience, adding that Biden told her to “say hello to everybody.”
The upcoming presidential trip has been canceled
A White House official told CNN that Biden’s planned trip to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, later Thursday for a speech on crime prevention has been canceled. Biden’s DNC fundraiser scheduled for Thursday night has been postponed, officials said. It has not yet been determined whether the event will be rescheduled or whether donors will be asked to make their pledged contributions. Biden was also scheduled to travel to Orlando and Tampa, Florida, on Monday, but is now expected to self-isolate. Biden has stepped up his engagement with the public over the past year as the White House has shifted its approach to the pandemic. On Wednesday, Biden traveled to Somerset, Mass., for an executive action climate event, where he was seen shaking hands and greeting attendees in the outdoor crowd. The President’s positive diagnosis comes less than a week after a swing through the Middle East, where he had meetings with world leaders in Israel and Saudi Arabia. While abroad, Biden was seen shaking hands, pumping fists and hugging other leaders. The White House is currently working on contact tracing for those who may have been in close contact with Biden, according to an official, following his positive Covid test. They plan to brief any close contacts on Thursday, including members of Congress and the press. At least one member of Congress who was in close contact after seeing Biden in Massachusetts received a contact tracing call from the White House on Thursday. The White House contacted the congressman’s office Thursday afternoon, according to a familiar source, and advised the congressman to follow the CDC’s recommendations for what a person should do when determined to be a close contact. One of the recommendations, for example, for someone who is fully vaccinated and comes into close contact is to wear a well-fitting mask while around other people for 10 days from the date of the last close contact.
The White House prepared for this moment
White House officials had been preparing for months for what many saw as an inevitability that Biden would come down with Covid. A wave of cases — involving Harris, White House officials and members of Congress — has swept Washington over the spring and summer. And as more and more of his top officials and family members came down with Covid, officials believed it was possible the President himself would fall ill, even as they took steps to protect him from the virus. Klein, in his memo Thursday to staff, wrote that White House officials “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. We are now executing our plan so that the President can continue to work seamlessly from home.” Biden last underwent an annual physical in November at Walter Reed National Medical Center. O’Connor wrote in a memo at the time that the President remained “fit for duty and fully discharging all his responsibilities without exception or accommodation.” Officials…
