President Joe Biden has COVID
President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be undertaking a period of self-isolation.
President Joe Biden has COVID-19.
The US leader, 81, tested positive for the illness on Wednesday (17.07.24) after an event in Las Vegas, although the White House has claimed that his symptoms of coronavirus are only of a "mild" nature.
A statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: "He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms.
"He will be returning 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 provide regular updates on the President’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation. "
The White House also included a statement from the president's doctor, which explained that the Democrat will be undertaking a period of self-isolation at his home in Delaware until he tests negative.
The statement read: "He 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. Given this, the President will be self-isolating in accordance with CDC guidance for symptomatic individuals.
"PCR confirmation testing will be pending PCR confirmation testing will be pending. The President has received his first dose of Paxlovid. He will be self-isolating at his home in Rehoboth."
Biden's coronavirus battle comes just days after presidential hopeful Donald Trump was shot in the ear during an apparent assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday (13.07.24).
At the time, Joe remarked: "It's sick. That's one of the reasons we have to unite this country. We cannot allow this to be happening. We cannot be like this, we cannot condone this.
"The bottom line is, the Trump rally is a rally that he should have been able to conduct peacefully without any problem. But the idea that there’s political violence, or violence in America like this, is just unheard of. It’s just not appropriate.
"Everybody must condemn it. Everybody."
