President Biden Tested Positive for COVID-19 While Campaigning in Las Vegas: Mild Symptoms, Self-Isolating in Delaware
JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 while on a trip to Las Vegas on Wednesday and is self-isolating after experiencing mild symptoms, the White House said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the Democratic politician's positive test result, after President Biden canceled a speech due to the diagnosis.
"He has been vaccinated and has received an additional shot and is experiencing mild symptoms," Jean-Pierre said, as reported by Reuters on July 18.
"He will return to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to perform all of his duties fully during that time," Jean-Pierre said.
The White House quoted President Biden's physician as saying that President Biden had developed upper respiratory symptoms in the afternoon.
"He felt well for his first event that day, but given that he was not feeling better, point-of-care testing for COVID-19 was performed and the results were positive for the COVID-19 virus," the statement said.
His symptoms were mild and he had received an initial dose of Paxlovid, the doctor said.
President Biden will now self-isolate in accordance with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, the White House said.
As he boarded Air Force One to depart Las Vegas to recover in Delaware, President Biden told reporters: “I feel great.”
The White House said President Biden planned to spend the long weekend at his Delaware beach house. It is unclear how long the illness will keep him from campaigning.
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A few minutes after the announcement, the presidential motorcade headed to the Las Vegas airport after recording a radio interview in the city.
Earlier, President Biden had greeted several people at a Mexican restaurant before doing the radio interview. He was late in delivering a speech to the civil rights group Latino UnidosUS when the organizer, Janet Murguia, announced that he had tested positive for COVID.
President Biden himself is known to have spent two nights in Vegas on the campaign trail.