United States President Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing “mild symptoms”, the White House said on Thursday.
Giving information about Biden’s health, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement, “Earlier today following his first event in Las Vegas, President Biden tested positive for Covid-19. He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms”.
The US President is set to return to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time. The White House will be giving out regular updates on the president’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation, she said.
Biden was scheduled to speak at the Unidos event in Las Vegas on Wednesday afternoon.
“His symptoms remain mild, his respiratory rate is normal at 16, his temperature is normal at 97.8 and his pulse oximetry is normal at 97%. The President has received his first dose of Paxlovid. He will be self-isolating at his home in Rehoboth,” the White House said in the statement.
Biden’s physician, Dr Kevin O’Connor, said that the US President “presented this afternoon with upper respiratory symptoms, to include rhinorhea (runny nose) and non-productive cough, with general malaise”.
The president felt okay for his first event of the day, but given that he was not feeling better, point-of-care testing for Covid-19 was conducted, and the results were positive for the Covid-19 virus, he said. “Given this, the president will be self-isolating in accordance with CDC guidance for symptomatic individuals. PCR confirmation testing will be pending,” the doctor said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
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Biden, 81, has been facing withering questions about his fitness for another term in office, as some of his fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill and campaign donors fear that he will lose the presidential election to former President Donald Trump after a stumbling performance in the debate on June 27.
