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President Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, the White House said on Thursday.
“This morning, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a written statement. “He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms. He has begun taking Paxlovid. Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time. He has been in contact with members of the White House staff by phone this morning, and will participate in his planned meetings at the White House this morning via phone and Zoom from the residence.”
“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,” Jean-Pierre continued. “Once he tests negative, he will return to in-person work.”
“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 said.
President Joe Biden speaks to media after exiting Air Force One, Wednesday, July 20, 2022, at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Per standard protocol for any positive case at the White House, the White House Medical Unit will inform all close contacts of the president during the day Thursday, including any members of Congress and any members of the press who interacted with Biden during his travel Wednesday, the statement added.
President Joe Biden traveled to Somerset, Massachusetts to deliver remarks on tackling the climate crisis and seizing the opportunity of a clean energy future to create jobs and lower costs for families on Wednesday, July 20, 2022.
(David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Biden’s last previous test for COVID was Tuesday, when he had a negative test result, the White House said.
First Lady of the United States Jill Biden told reporters in Michigan that she tested negative for COVID-19 and will be keeping her schedule Thursday in accordance with CDC guidelines.
Biden traveled Wednesday to Somerset, Massachusetts, where he delivered a speech on the “climate crisis.” He pledged $2.3 billion – the largest climate investment ever — to come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for local communities to invest in infrastructure designed to address a range of disasters including extreme heat, drought, flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes.
From left to right, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, John Kerry, Sen. Ed Markey and Sen. Elizabeth Warren applause during President Biden’s speech about the climate in Somerset, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, July 20, 2022.
(David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
“Climate change is literally an existential threat to our nation and to the world,” Biden said during his speech Wednesday. “So, my message today is this: Since Congress is not acting as it should — and these guys here are, but we’re not getting many Republican votes — this is an emergency. An emergency. And I will — I will look at it that way.”
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Biden was mocked on Twitter for either an apparent bombshell or an egregious gaffe during the speech Wednesday suggesting that he has cancer – possibly linked to him growing up in an area of Delaware rampant with oil pollution.
But the remark prompted the White House to quickly clarify that Biden was referring to past the removal of non-melanoma skin cancers before he became president.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
