Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19. The White House announced the news in a statement on Thursday. “This morning, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
“He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms. He has begun taking Paxlovid,” she added. According to the administration, the president will self-isolate at the White House. In addition, he’ll carry on with his usual duties while in quarantine.
Per reports, Biden was in contact with numerous members of the White House staff via phone this morning. He also participated in his planned meetings at the White House this morning by way of phone and Zoom calls.
Previously, the 79-year-old was scheduled to head to Pennsylvania on Thursday to discuss his crime philosophy before later attending a fundraiser in Philadelphia. Now, all that will be on the back burner as Biden quarantines.
“Consistent with White House protocol for positive COVID cases, which goes above and beyond CDC guidance, he will continue to work in isolation until he tests negative. Once he tests negative, he will return to in-person work,” Jean-Pierre said.
“Out of an abundance of transparency, the White House will provide a daily update on the President’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation,” she added.
Jean-Pierre also revealed that close contacts, “including any Members of Congress and any members of the press who interacted with the President during yesterday’s travel,” would be informed.
Before the news broke of his diagnosis, Biden traveled to Somerset, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, where he revealed executive actions to combat climate change.
Before that, on Tuesday, the Commander-in-Chief also greeted Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska at the White House.
Joe Biden’s COVID-19 diagnosis comes after he casually reveals he has cancer
Doctors last tested the President for COVID-19 on Tuesday, when he tested negative, per Jean-Pierre. Biden is fully vaccinated and received two boosters. He received his second booster shot on March 3.
The news comes amid Biden’s claims on Wednesday that hat he has cancer. As a result, the White House press office swiftly clarified that he was referring to the skin cancer treatment. As they describe, Biden received the treatment before coming into office.
The comment was a shocking yet casual announcement he made during a speech about global warming. During the speech, the president described emissions from oil refineries near his childhood home in Claymont, Del.
“That’s why I and so damn many other people I grew up with have cancer and why for the longest time Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation,” Biden said.
However, Biden’s doctor, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, issued a health report in 2021. That report didn’t reveal that the president suffered from any current cancers.
O’Connor’s report attributed his skin cancer to spending time in the sun rather than exposure to chemicals from the oil industry.
“It is well-established that President Biden did spend a good deal of time in the sun in his youth,” O’Connor wrote of Biden. Biden is also a former lifeguard.
“He has had several localized, non-melanoma skin cancers removed with Mohs surgery before he started his presidency. These lesions were completely excised, with clear margins,” the physician added.
