Joe Biden who is fully jabbed and has had two booster shots, has tested positive for ‘covid-19’.
The White House said the president is experiencing very mild symptoms and will continue to carry out his duties while in isolation.
First Lady Jill Biden said that she tested negative on Thursday, and said she will continue to follow CDC guidance by wearing a mask.
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Al Jazeera reports: Biden, 79, who will isolate at the White House, has been in contact with members of staff and will participate in planned meetings, the president’s Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced in a statement on Thursday morning.
The president has begun taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug recommended for those at risk of severe illness. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said in the case of COVID-19, that includes those over the age of 65.
Biden’s COVID-19 diagnosis was confirmed by both antigen and PCR tests, the president’s physician, Dr Kevin O’Connor said Thursday in a letter to Jean-Pierre that the White House made public.
The president’s symptoms include a “runny nose”, “fatigue, with an occasional dry cough” which began on Wednesday evening, O’Connor wrote. The medic anticipated Biden “will respond favorably” to treatment.
The White House says it will provide a daily update on Biden’s status, and will inform anyone who has been in close contact with the president. A briefing was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
Biden’s previous COVID-19 test was Tuesday which was negative, the White House said.
Biden will work in isolation until he tests negative, consistent with White House COVID-19 protocol, more stringent than guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Jean-Pierre said.
“At this time we are fully under the impression that this is nothing more than someone who might be experiencing a common cold,something that Joe Biden has experienced as president before and therefore is fully in control and capable of carrying out his duties as president of the United States,” Al Jazeera’s White House correspondent Kimberly Halkett, said.
