President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing “mild symptoms,” the White House confirmed Wednesday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that Biden, 81, tested positive for the virus earlier in the day after an event in Las Vegas. Biden was scheduled to speak at the UnidosUS conference on Wednesday night, but the group’s president announced he could no longer attend.
Jean-Pierre said the President will return to his home state of Delaware, “where he will self-isolate and continue to fully perform all of his duties during that period.” She added that he is vaccinated and boosted.
Biden had scheduled several events for this week following questions about his health and mental fitness following a poor debate performance in late June. The president said in a interview which occurred before his COVID-19 diagnosis, that he would consider dropping out of the presidential race if his doctors told him he had a “medical issue.” He last tested positive for COVID-19 in 2022.
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Kevin O’Connor, the president’s doctor, said in a statement that Biden had a runny nose and “unproductive cough” with general malaise on Wednesday afternoon.
“He felt fine for the first event of the day, but as 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 doctor continued. “In light of this, the President will be self-isolating in accordance with CDC guidance for symptomatic individuals. The PCR confirmation test will be pending. 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 received the first dose of Paxlovid. He will remain isolated at his home in Rehoboth.”
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This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
