President Biden, 79, tests positive for COVID-19 [Updated]
Enlarge / WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 20: U.S. President Joe Biden departs the Oval Office and walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House July 20, 2022 in Washington, DC. Biden is traveling to Somerset, Massachusetts to discuss his next steps in addressing climate change. He is scheduled to deliver remarks at the site of the now-closed Brayton Point power plant, which is being turned into the state's first offshore wind manufacturing facility. (credit: Getty | Drew Angerer)
President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday morning, the White House announced.
The 79-year-old is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and is experiencing very mild symptoms, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. He has already begun a course of the antiviral Paxlovid and has started an isolation period in the White House, consistent with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to a letter released from the president's physician, Kevin O'Connor, Biden tested positive via an antigen test this morning, a result that has already been confirmed by a PCR test. Prior to this morning, he was most recently tested on Tuesday and had tested negative. Now, Biden is experiencing mild symptoms of a runny nose, fatigue, and an occasional dry cough, which began yesterday, the letter said.