COVID News: Biden Tests Positive for COVID-19 Virus; Shows Symptoms

US President Joe Biden

President Biden, who is fully vaccinated and twice boosted, was “experiencing very mild symptoms,” according to the White House. The virus is surging across much of the country because of new, immune-evasive variants.




WASHINGTON — President Biden tested positive on Thursday for the coronavirus, raising health concerns for the 79-year-old president and underscoring how the virus remains a persistent, if muted, threat in a country trying to put the pandemic in the past.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said in a statement that Mr. Biden had “tested positive for Covid-19. He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms.”

The president will “continue to carry out all of his duties fully” during this time, she said.

Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, said in a letter released by the White House Thursday morning that Mr. Biden felt fatigued, had a runny nose and an occasional dry cough and that his symptoms began on Wednesday evening. The president is receiving Paxlovid, an antiviral drug used to minimize the severity of Covid-19.

Officials said that Mr. Biden would isolate in the White House residence for at least five days, at which point he will resume normal activities if he tests negative. If he continues to test positive he will remain in isolation until he tests negative.

“I anticipate that he will respond favorably, as most maximally protected patients do,” Dr. O’Connor wrote in the letter. Ms. Jean-Pierre told reporters that Dr. O’Connor would not take questions directly, as previous presidential physicians have, but will issue written statements about Mr. Biden’s condition each day while the president isolates.

In a short video posted to Twitter, Mr. Biden thanked people for their concern and said he is “doing well, getting a lot of work done.” In the video, Mr. Biden is shown standing near a balcony overlooking the South Lawn of the White House, dressed in a suit but with no tie.

“Keep the faith,” Mr. Biden says in the video. “It’s going to be OK.”

The president’s diagnosis represented a moment his aides had spent years bracing for.

As a candidate in 2020, Mr. Biden took extraordinary measures to avoid becoming sick, holding “drive-in rallies” and avoiding the kind of in-person events that had been hallmarks of life on the campaign trail.

As president, Mr. Biden remained severely isolated in his first months in office as the virus surged throughout the country. The number of staff members he interacted with was limited. Members of the news media and others tested regularly. Mr. Biden and his staff wore masks at all times.

More recently, however, as the number of vaccinated people increased and as Americans looked for a return to normal life, the president has largely resumed regular activity. Last week, he returned from a trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, where he shook hands and embraced many world leaders.

At home, Mr. Biden rarely wears a mask and has returned to hosting crowded events in the East Room and elsewhere in the White House.

On Thursday, the president’s top Covid official said there was little reason to expect that Mr. Biden would experience anything other than mild symptoms.


President Biden is “is feeling fine” and “sounded great,” Ashish K. Jha, the White House Covid coordinator, said on Thursday, adding that the president’s positive coronavirus test was being assessed to determine which variant had infected him.

Speaking at a White House briefing, Mr. Jha said Mr. Biden would follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and work in isolation for at least five days. He would then resume his normal schedule once he obtains a negative test.

White House officials at times, however, dodged or gave scant details on Thursday on Mr. Biden’s timeline before his positive test result, his testing cadence and who he was in proximity with in recent days. The White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre initially said Mr. Biden began to experience his symptoms on Wednesday evening after delivering a speech on climate change in Massachusetts. He then took a pre-scheduled test on Thursday morning and then reported his symptoms to his doctor, Mr. Jha said.

Asked about why Mr. Biden was photographed Wednesday maskless at his desk and also in a video of him outside that the White House released, Ms. Jean-Pierre said the videographer and photographer involved were at least six feet away and wearing N95 masks.

“And with the photo, he took off his mask so that the American people could see him and see directly the work that he’s doing and that he’s sitting at his desk continuing to do his work,” she said.

Mr. Jha said it takes roughly a week to determine which variant Mr. Biden was infected with, but the president’s test would be prioritized and be done in less than a week. The BA.5 subvariant has quickly become the most dominant version of the coronavirus, accounting for more than three-quarters of new cases and driving up positive tests and hospitalizations.

“Because the president is fully vaccinated, double boosted, his risk of serious illness is dramatically lower,” Mr. Jha said. “He’s also getting treated with a very powerful antiviral and that further reduces his risk of serious illness.”

Mr. Jha said Mr. Biden’s oxygen level was “normal,” without providing specifics, and it was unclear how frequently it would be monitored. Mr. Jha said Mr. Biden’s treatment for the coronavirus meant he temporarily would stop taking two of his routine medications, Crestor, a cholesterol reducer, and Eliquis, which is meant to prevent blood clots.

Before his positive test on Thursday, Mr. Biden was last tested on Tuesday and received a negative result. Mr. Jha said Mr. Biden is tested regularly and his testing cadence was developed with his personal doctor, Dr. Kevin O’Conner. The White House did not make Mr. O’Conner available for interviews on Thursday, breaking with the routine of previous administrations when the president fell ill.

Mr. Jha said the White House had no regrets over the amount of time Mr. Biden spent unmasked in recent weeks and did not feel he behaved too casually.

Mr. Biden was experiencing mild symptoms, including a runny nose, fatigue and a dry cough, Mr. Jha said. He is taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug, “which in this case provides additional protection against severe disease.” He said moving Mr. Biden to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center remained an option but was not yet necessary given his “mild illness.”

Mr. Jha said Mr. Biden’s vaccination status and use of the antiviral drug should also calm concerns about his age could impact his condition. “All of those things very dramatically reduce his risk of serious illness,” Mr. Jha said. “And that’s really the goal here is, is to prevent serious illness, to keep that risk as low as possible. I think he’s gotten that full set of protections.”

“Our expectation is that he’s going to continue to have mild illness, and he’s going to be monitored for symptoms,” Mr. Jha said. He added, “We don’t have any expectations of any other symptoms at this point.”

Mr. Jha and Ms. Jean-Pierre then said Mr. Biden only experienced fatigue on Wednesday evening, adding it was not clear if it was related to his coronavirus case. “He said he felt tired last night, went to bed, didn’t have a great night of sleep — we’ve all had those — woke up, got tested and then when asked about symptoms, reported that indeed he had this morning some runny nose and a dry cough,” Mr. Jha said.

“I think he became aware of symptoms of the runny nose and sore throat this morning,” Mr. Jha said.

Mr. Jha and Ms. Jean-Pierre said they did not know the specific time Mr. Biden began feeling his minor symptoms. Ms. Jean-Pierre said it was “safe to assume” Mr. Biden had not been around staff members in the White House who had recently tested positive, given the administration’s policy of disclosing to the public when Mr. Biden is a close contact with a staffer who has tested positive.

Ms. Jean-Pierre said the administration was still conducting contact-tracing when asked whether officials Mr. Biden traveled with or stood alongside in recent days were considered close contacts. The White House did not provide a number of officials who were in proximity to Mr. Biden.

Mr. Jha said there has been no discussion about re-evaluating the White House’s protocol following Mr. Biden’s positive test. Asked if the public should assume a positive coronavirus case is inevitable at this point, Mr. Jha said, “I don’t believe every American will be infected,” adding the administration is focused on providing vaccines and antiviral drugs to the public “to keep infections down.”