President Biden tests positive for COVID-19, experiencing ‘mild symptoms’

U.S. President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the White House.

A statement from the White House Press Secretary says the 79-year-old Biden tested positive on Thursday morning and is experiencing “very mild symptoms.”

“He will continue to work in isolation until he tests negative,” reads the statement. “Once he tests negative, he will return to in-person work.”

“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.”

Biden is fully vaccinated and has received two booster doses, the most recent on March 30. The White House says he has already begun taking Paxlovid as a treatment for the virus.

The diagnosis comes just before he was supposed to hold a press conference in Pennsylvania.

Up to this point, Biden’s ability to avoid the virus seemed to defy the odds, even with the testing procedures in place for those expected to be in close contact with him. Prior waves of the virus swept through Washington’s political class, infecting Vice President Kamala Harris, Cabinet members, White House staffers and lawmakers. Biden has increasingly stepped up his travel schedule and resumed holding large indoor events where not everyone is tested.

Top White House officials in recent months have been matter-of-fact about the likelihood of the president getting COVID, a measure of how engrained the virus has become in society — and of its diminished threat for those who are up to date on their vaccinations and with access to treatments.

When administered within five days of symptoms appearing, Paxlovid, produced by drugmaker Pfizer, has been proven to bring about a 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get severe disease.

In an April 30 speech to more than 2,600 attendees at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, Biden acknowledged the risks of attending large events, but said it was worthwhile to attend.

“I know there are questions about whether we should gather here tonight because of COVID,” he said. “Well, we’re here to show the country that we’re getting through this pandemic.”

Biden is far from the first world leader — and not the first U.S. president — to get the coronavirus, which has infected British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and more than a dozen other leaders and high-ranking officials globally.

When Biden’s predecessor, President Donald Trump, contracted the disease in October 2020, it was a far different time. Vaccines were not available and treatment options were limited and less advanced. After being diagnosed with COVID-19 at the White House, Trump was given an experimental antibody treatment and steroids after his blood oxygen levels fell dangerously low. He was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for three days.